High School Life!: Year 1
by bell.esque
Summary: [AU][OOC] Haruno Sakura just started her first year at Konoha High, and is tossed into a realm of unexpected craziness. A place where the teachers are into ninjas, and the students are rabid fangirls out to get her. SasuSaku,NaruHina,ShikaIno,NejiTen
1. Chapter I: New Things

High School Life!: Year 1

**Chapter I: New School, New Friends, and a New, Lazy, Perverted Teacher!**

by Kikoru Sijan

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. I DO own Mitsuki in the preview, though. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes, sounds like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

'Beep'

'Beep'

'Beep'

'Beep'

'Beep'

'B-' 'Slam'

"Damn that alarm clock!" a girl with pink hair that went to her mid-back and green eyes thought.

'Yawn. Your not much of a morning person are you, Sakura?' the girl's inner self said.

**"If I'm not, neither are you!"** the girl, now revealed as Sakura, snarled in her mind.

'Whatever. Get ready. We're going to school today, remember. And may I remind you, it's the FIRST day!' Inner Sakura said.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! It's already 7:30! I only have half an hour!!" Sakura screamed.

'Well, hurry up! It's the FIRST day at a NEW school! C'mon!' Inner Sakura exclaimed. Sakura jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth before running into the shower stall to, yes you guessed it!, shower. 15 minutes later, Sakura was out of the bathroom in her school uniform. It was spring time (A/N: I think schools in Japan start in spring on April 1.), so she wore the summer uniform, consisting of a thin, black coat with short sleeves over a short sleeved, white blouse. The coat was fastened a little below the neck by a red bow with a pendent that had a leaf engraved on it, the school's, Konoha High's, insignia. The coat was long and reached to about the knees, much like a cape if there weren't any sleeves. The skirt was gray and the socks were knee-high, with red stripes at the top. Finally, there were black shoes for outside the school and gym class. Sakura's hair was tied in a half-ponytail with a thin, red ribbon.

'Might I say this looks quite good on you. This school's girls' uniform is soooooo kawaii!' Inner Sakura screamed in Sakura's mind.

**"I'm so scared! What if I can't make friends? The first year of high school is so weird! Gah!"** Sakura thought in her head.

'I'm sure you'll make friends. Come on! We have to go and eat. You're gonna be late otherwise!' Inner Sakura reminded. Sakura jumped at this and ran down the stairs. She quickly ate a bowl of cereal. There was nobody to say good-bye to, because Sakura had began to live alone when she was 12. Her parents decided to stay in the States, and they also said that she was old enough. Sakura, though, knew this was because they had too much to do, and had to leave her to live alone for many years, until she, Sakura, would finally be able to allow them to retire and would inherit Haruno Inc., a company that owned many hospitals and hotels. Sakura wished to become a doctor in one of the hospitals, and her parents supported her. It wasn't a too far away dream, but she would have to study and work hard to become somebody renowned in medics.

Sakura grabbed her brown bag, much like a briefcase, and locked the door, before continuing to her nearby school.

* * *

"Whew, good thing school's close by!" Sakura said to herself as she walked through the gates of the school, cherry blossom petals everywhere. Large groups of students were crowded around the bulletin boards, trying to find homeroom. Sakura walked up to the board for first year students. She squeezed through the crowd, and appeared in the front. She scanned the board.

"1-1, nope. 1-2...nope. 1-3...ah! There I am! Haruno Sakura!" the fifteen-year old's eyes brightened to seeing her name. **"Finally!**" She thought.

Sakura found the locker room (A/N: Not the type for gym. The type where you change your shoes to go inside.), and found her small locker and switched her shoes to white ones that were used indoors.

Sakura walked out of the locker room, trying to find her class on the first floor for first years. She turned right and found her class to be the second down the hall, on the right. Her hand rested on the handle of the sliding door, and she pulled it open.

* * *

A boy with spiky, raven hair and dark onyx eyes sat in the corner of the room, 1-3. He stared out of the window, with his arm propping his head up.

"Oi! Teme! You there?" a blond with blue eyes and spiky hair yelled.

"Do you have to be so loud?!" the first boy said, annoyed by the fact that his best friend disturbed his peace. They both wore a white shirt under a black coat that ended at the waist. The collar of the coat was flipped pointing upward and covered the neck completely if the coat was buttoned, which the two didn't do. They wore black pants and black shoes. On the coat, a green leaf was printed on the left side of the chest.

"But, Sasuke-teme, you were spacing out, and I called you like fifty times! I found out that Shikamaru, the lazy-ass, is in the class too! I looked at the board again, and there it was, Nara Shikamaru. I wonder when he's coming," the blond said.

"Probably right before class starts, being the lazy-ass he is," Sasuke replied. "Naruto, you should already know that he won't waste his sleeping hours, unless it's for 'cloud-gazing'."

"Yea, I guess your right. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOUR BETTER, TEME!" Naruto retorted, crossing his arms.

"Hn. Whatever. But you're not the one that had fangirls after taking one step into the school gates," Sasuke said, smirking. Just then, the door slid open to reveal a pink-haired girl.

* * *

"**Wow, almost the whole class is here! I guess I'll just take a seat,"** Sakura thought. She took a step in, when, in a flash, a grinning blond boy with three painted whiskers on each cheek appeared in front of her.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Who are you?!" the boy asked loudly.

Sakura sweat dropped. "Um...I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you!" she managed to say.

"Oh, come with me! Just sit with us until our sensei comes and gives us the seating plan!" Naruto exclaimed. He was about to bring Sakura with him when the door slammed open and a boy entered. He had black eyes and dark brown hair in a spiky ponytail at the top of his head, making him look like a pineapple.

"Yo, Naruto. What are you doing?" the boy asked.

"Oh, Shikamaru! This is Haruno Sakura. Sakura-chan, this is Shikamaru, or lazy-ass as we like to call him," Naruto said, introducing the two to each other.

"Oh! Hi there!" Sakura replied with a smile on her face. Naruto began to drag her towards the corner near the window.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme! Look, this is Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke turned and stared at Sakura for a few moments with his dark cold eyes. "Hn," he said, after his "examination." Many girls in the class squealed.

"Sasuke-kun, aishiteru!" a girl exclaimed. Many other girls yelled in agreement.

Shikamaru came up to the three. "Sasuke, looks like you weren't able to escape the horror of fangirls in high school. It seems it got even WORSE," Shikamaru said with a smirk on his face. Sakura sweat dropped. "Fangirls, isn't this your first year here. Also, your first DAY?!" Sakura asked, clearly a bit confused.

'Well, of course. Don't you see how GORGEOUS he is?!' Inner Sakura exclaimed.

"**Yea, but he seems uncomfortable, so I'll just be his friend, not his fangirl," **Sakura thought, telling her inner self to stop fangirling over Sasuke.

"Well, you see, Sasuke-teme gets fangirls everywhere he goes, even if he's just walking on the street," Naruto explained.

"Oh! You don't seem to like the fangirls much..." Sakura said. Sasuke nodded. The door was heard opening, and a man reading an orange book came in. He had spiky silver hair and a mask covered face, with only one dark eye showing. His eyes crinkled as he smiled when he reached the front of the room.

"Hello! Sorry, I'm late. I got lost-" the teacher began.

"In your porn book, Kakashi? I never thought that your job you kept speaking of was a high school teacher," Sasuke said, with a smirk on his face.

"Ah, Sasuke! Didn't think you'd be in MY homeroom this year!" Kakashi exclaimed, now reading the book again.

"Hn. Well, I wish I wasn't. I see enough of you already."

"Oh, Sasuke. I'm hurt," Kakashi replied in a mock, sad voice. "Well, anyway," he announced in his normal voice, "I'm Hatake Kakashi, and I will be your homeroom teacher this year, as well as your history and math teacher. I need to give out your seating plan, so will everyone come up to the front of the room, and once I announce your name, step up and introduce yourself. Say your name, likes, dislikes, and goals." The class went to the front of the room, and each took their turn as their names were called. After the introduction, they were seated. (A/N: I'm just going to introduce the rookie 9. The others got their turns, but only some OCs will be seen and FORMALLY introduced. Right now, just the rookie 9 are going to be said.)

"Aburame Shino."

"Hello, I'm Aburame Shino. I like...bugs. I dislike...bug-haters. My goal is...to find a place where bugs can live in peace." People sweat dropped at this. A few more people went.

"Akimichi Chouji."

"Hi! I'm Akimichi Chouji! I like BBQ chips the best and I hate it when people take the VERY last chip from me. I want to be able to make the BEST flavor of chips in the world."

Few more people.

"Haruno Sakura."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like cake and strawberries a lot. I also like many sweets. I don't really like people that bully others. My goal is to become a doctor in one of the hospitals my family owns, instead of running a hotel that is also under my family's name."

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"I-I'm Hyuuga H-h-hinata. I l-like to c-cook. I d-don't l-like p-people t-th-that a-are un-un-kind. M-my goal is to speak like this more often i-instead of st-stuttering l-like th-this."

Few more.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Inuzuka Kiba. I like dogs a lot, and I'm not THAT fond of cats. I hope to run the vet chain my family owns when I grow older."

Few more.

"Nara Shikamaru."

"You all ready know my name. This is so troublesome...but I like to look at clouds. I don't like loud people much. Well, currently...my goal is undecided, but I would like people to stop always thinking of me as a genius, just because my IQ is 200. It's so troublesome..."

Few more.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn. I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like...certain things I'd rather not say. I dislike... quite a lot of things. And my goal is to surpass someone..." Fangirls squealed as some other people that weren't fangirls sweat dropped.

Two more.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hi! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I LOVE RAMEN! I don't really like arrogant bastards like Sasuke-teme. And my goal is to own a famous ramen stall!"

Few more.

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Hello! I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like making new friends and flowers. I don't really like people that bully. My goal...I hope I can get through my high school years okay. But my other goal is to become a garden arranger, like recommending where to put flowers in a garden. Like a garden designer. I think that would be nice."

Last few.

"Okay, now everybody is in their seats, let's begin class! Everyone has a schedule in their desk and the first class is math with me. Now..." Kakashi said.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Fangirls, Fanboys, and Saviors!

"Ah! What the hell! Is it illegal to be Sasuke-kun's friend!" Sakura screamed.

"Yes, because only WE are allowed to adore him. You have to be part of the fanclub, because otherwise, he'll keep neglecting us!" Mitsuki, screamed back. Fangirls behind screamed in agreement. "You're a big threat!"

"What the hell?! Sakura-chan's has fanboys!" Naruto asked, seeing a hoard of boys running towards Sakura and the screaming fangirls.

"Iie. I thought that fangirls were enough. Now that she's friends with us, fanboys are also gonna attack. This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru said, sighing. "What're we gonna do?"

"Fight them of for her?" Naruto suggested.

"Of course! You guys having trouble. I think we can help!" a girl's voice said. Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto whipped around to face the girl.

* * *

A/N: So, how'd you like it? It's my first fanfic, so go easy on me! I hope I can update about every week! I'll warn you if I can't update for a while! I hope I got all the rookie 9 in this chapter for now! Review plz! Oh, and guess who the girl in the end of the preview is, and who is "we"? Also, all the grades have 6 homerooms, just so you know! Some teachers won't have names, but I'll mention them...maybe. I have chapter two ready all ready, but I wanna see if I can get reviews. Gomenasai if I have any grammer or spelling mistakes. And thank you, Renalin!

Next possible update: April 14 or April 15 or maybe even earlier!

Kikoru x3


	2. Chapter II: Fanclubs and Saviors!

High School Life!: Year 1

**Chapter II: Fangirls, Fanboys, and Saviors!**

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

"Gah! I hate math class so much! Science and English were okay, but I hate math so much!" Sakura said, getting up from her seat.

"Hn. It's not like you're bad at it…" Sasuke replied, still sitting at his desk, staring out the window. Sakura and Sasuke sat right next to each other, and the funny thing was that they were in the seats they sat in before class.

"Are you saying you like all the classes we took, because obviously, you're saying that if you're not bad at a subject, you have no reason to hate it? And right now, I see that you're good at EVERY subject," Sakura exclaimed back angrily.

"Did I say that I liked the classes?" Sasuke said with a smirk. Sakura's eyes widened in realization.

"**Sasuke never said he liked the classes, he just said I shouldn't HATE math class for any reason. Truthfully, I can still pass it. Heck, I'm even GOOD at it,"** Sakura thought.

"Fine, you win…this time," Sakura said. "Good-bye, Capitan Chicken Hair," Sakura said, mock bowing then saluting. She left the room grinning, with Sasuke standing up from his desk smirking.

'She's quite different.'

"**Who the hell are you?"**

'Why, dear, dear Sasuke-_kun_. I'm your inner self."

"**What the hell?!"**

'Hn. So idiotic. Sigh. Well, Sasu-_chan_, I'll talk to you later!'

"**Hey! Get back here, dammit! Whatever, she's interesting."**

"Sasuke-teme, she got you good!" Naruto exclaimed laughing, breaking Sasuke's train of thought. His laughter began to fade when he saw Sasuke smirking, again.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

"I should be the one asking you," Sasuke replied. "C'mon, let's go. Everyone's already gone to lunch."

"Oi, teme! You know where to meet? And why mention lunch when we're not going to eat _anyway_?" Naruto yelled when Sasuke was at the door. Sasuke gave a nod before stuffing his hands in his pocket and heading outside. Naruto followed soon after, as everyone in the room began to walk out, chatting with friends.

* * *

"Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino, right?" Sakura asked when she was behind two girls, one with dark purplish, blue, short hair and the other with long, blond hair in a ponytail. The two turned around. 

"Oh, hi! Haruno Sakura, right?" Ino exclaimed. Sakura nodded.

"**Why does Ino seem so familiar?" **Sakura thought.

"Want to come eat lunch with us?" Sakura asked. The two nodded. They followed her to a cherry blossom tree near the school's entrance. They sat down and opened their bento boxes.

After a few bites of food, Sakura broke the silence. "So, did you guys know each other from before here?"

"Y-yes. W-we went to m-middle school t-together," Hinata answered, lowering her lavender eyes. Ino nodded.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Ino asked Sakura. Sakura put her index finger on her chin and looked upwards.

"**I guess I should tell her what happened in elementary. She seriously might be somebody I know."**

'Hell yea! Even, _I_ remember her, and I wasn't with you _that _much during your younger days. You were too shy! No mind whatsoever, therefore no room for me,' Inner Sakura said.

"**What. Did. You. Say."**

'Nevermind, just tell them what happened.'

So Sakura began, "I don't know, but I think I knew a girl named Ino in elementary. She saved me from all these bullies, because they used to make fun of my forehead…"

"Forehead girl?!" Ino exclaimed suddenly, blue eyes shining. Sakura's eyes widened.

"W-what!? Ino-pig?!" Sakura exclaimed after Ino. They squealed and hugged each other.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again, Ino-pig!" Sakura said. "I didn't think I would see you either. I knew that pink hair was familiar." The two laughed before turning to Hinata. "Sorry, we just were surprised a bit and had a…moment," Sakura said apologizing, since the two ignored Hinata for a while. Hinata didn't seem to mind and nodded. They continued to eat their lunches, with Ino sharing about how she met Hinata when she moved. Apparently, Ino and Sakura used to be best friends, but Ino had to move after her last year of elementary school. Ino met Hinata in her new school , and like what happened with Sakura, helped Hinata stand up for herself a bit.

"Ino-pig, it seems you're quite the type who likes to help!" Sakura said, laughing.

"You, too, forehead girl! So you want to be a doctor. I knew you'd go down that path," Ino said, laughing as well.

* * *

"Look! There's Sakura-chan! Who's she with? Wow, that girl with short hair is _really _pretty," Naruto said, pointing at the tree the girls were seated under. Sure enough, Sakura was sitting there with two other girls. 

"The troublesome blonde is not _that_ bad, I suppose."

"Let's go over to them!" Naruto said.

"Hn," Sasuke said…more like uttered the famous, two-lettered-yes-or-no-Uchiha-line.

"This is so troublesome…" Still, Sasuke and Shikamaru followed Naruto to the girls, but couldn't reach them…

* * *

"There she is!" Ino heard a girl shout. The three turned to the direction from where it was coming from, and in an instant, a group of girls were around Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, but they were focusing on Sakura. 

"You," a girl with long, light brown hair said, "get away from Sasuke-kun. You don't deserve to sit next to him in class. You can't be friends with him either. I, Mitsuki, as president of the Sasuke Fanclub, says so. And I won't let you join!" Mitsuki shot Sakura a glare with her hazel eyes that could have killed, _if_ looks _could_ kill, that is.

"**That girl's eyes _could_ be pretty if she wasn't glaring at me!" **Sakura thought.

"Ah! What the hell! Is it illegal to be Sasuke-kun's friend!" Sakura screamed.

"Yes, because only WE are allowed to adore him. You have to be part of the fanclub, because otherwise, he'll keep neglecting us!" Mitsuki, screamed back. Fangirls behind screamed in agreement. "You're a big threat!"

* * *

"What the hell?! Sakura-chan's has fanboys!" Naruto asked, seeing a hoard of boys running towards Sakura and the screaming fangirls. 

"Iie. I thought that fangirls were enough. Now that she's friends with us, fanboys are also gonna attack. This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru said, sighing. "What're we gonna do?"

"Fight them of for her?" Naruto suggested.

"Of course! You guys having trouble. I think we can help!" a girl's voice said. Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto whipped around to face the girl. She had brown hair in buns and next to her was a boy.

"I'm Tenten, and this is Hyuuga Neji. We can see the problem you're having, and we might be able to help," the girl said.

"Why, would you just go and help some random person," Sasuke questioned, obviously suspicious. He narrowed his eyes and gave Neji the Uchiha death glare. Neji returned the glare with one of his own death glares. Tenten didn't seem to notice, though.

"Well, you see, Neji here needs to save his cousin, Hinata, the one with short hair, there. Both of us also need to get one of our friends, Rock Lee, who became a fanboy. You see, we got this project from one of the teachers, and we need his help," Tenten explained. Sasuke broke away from the glare Neji's lavender eyes directed at him and nodded. "Okay, so what's the plan?" Tenten grinned and her brown eyes shone mischievously and the five huddled together.

* * *

"Haruno, you need to back off," Mitsuki threatened. 

"Or what? You'll punch me? As if! You wouldn't dare 'break a nail'," Sakura said, glaring back.

"Why, you-"

"What? Can't think of any-" Sakura started but was interrupted.

"Hinata-sama, so you were here. I have been looking for you. Come with me, you're father will be angry with me if you got in trouble."

"Neji-niisan! I'm sorry," Hinata said as she quickly packed her lunch. The Sasuke fangirls stopped and squealed. Apparently, they were Neji fangirls, too.

"Neji-kun! Go out with me!" Mitsuki said, ignoring Sakura. Sakura looked at Ino and shook her head. Ino tried to suppress a giggle, but failed. Good thing only Sakura noticed and grinned. Many other girls screamed for Neji. At that moment, Sasuke walked up to them.

"Hn. I knew it. You all like this Hyuuga better than me," Sasuke said, standing with his arms crossed.

"No! Of course not, Sasuke-kun," Mitsuki cried.

"No? So you DO like Uchiha better then me. How hurt I feel," Neji said, acting. As Mitsuki turned to Neji, Sasuke gave Sakura a smirk, and this time, it was Sakura trying not to laugh.

"**So this is their plan,"** she thought. **"I might as well not interrupt. I could use this time to escape!"** Sakura packed her lunch and motioned for Ino to follow. Hinata left as she saw the two leave.

"No, no, Neji-kun! You two are…equal!" Mitsuki said.

"Equal? Only, equal. You fangirls are pathetic. You can only worship one person, and one person only," Sasuke and Neji both said, before walking off into the other direction, leaving the now troubled fangirls.

* * *

"That was genius! Tenten, genius!" Sakura exclaimed, laughing. Tenten grinned, Naruto laughed, Ino giggled, Hinata smiled, and Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Neji smirked after Tenten, the mastermind of the plan, introduced herself. Sakura turned to Sasuke and Neji. "And I never thought you two could be such good actors, seeing that you two are usually so quiet." 

"Hn. You never asked," Sasuke said. Sakura smiled.

"I still can't believe that you all did that to save us. Thanks!"

"No problem. By the way, did you guys see the fanboys?" Tenten asked.

"Ran off," Neji and Sasuke answered. "What about Lee?" Tenten asked again.

"He probably went back to the classroom. For some reason, I think the fanboys are _afraid_ of the fangirls. Since the fangirls _do_ seem more forceful," Neji said. Tenten nodded.

"Well, see you guys around. How about we meet back at that tree tomorrow. If you ever need us you can come to our class, 2-1!" Tenten said, waving good-bye as she and Neji walked back into the school. " I guess we should get back to class, too," Sakura said. The five walked back to class 1-3 and took their seats.

Their next period was history, with Kakashi-sensei. He wrote on the board, as everyone copied notes.

"Now, after you finish copying your notes, read pages 234-238 in your textbook. It's on ninjas and how they used chakra. Some weapons are mentioned too. If you need any help, come up to my desk," Kakashi said before going back to his orange book. Everyone did their work silently, and when the bell rang, students wrote and packed their homework before running to the gym. Gym class.

"**Oh joy!"** Sakura thought sarcastically.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Dodgeball, Volleyball, Basketball! I Can Play it All! 

"How'd you like you're run? Now let's play some dodgeball, first. Get ready! Your teammates will be 5 people in your class for volleyball and basketball, since each class has 18 people, there will be three groups for every class. That will mean there are 18 teams. But for dodgeball, your team will be your class. This will be done tournament style, and the gym will be split in half, with two teams playing at a time. One team will verse another. When I say stop, the team with the most people left on it will be the winner!" the gym teacher, Gai-sensei said. "Hai!"

"Also, after this, it's volleyball in tournament style, too. The gym will have two sides, with two games playing at a time. I will assign teams when it's time. Then it's basketball with one game at a time! Got it?!"

"Hai!"

"**This is going to be a LONG gym period,"** Sakura thought.

'Tell me about it,' Inner Sakura said. Sakura sighed. **"Oh, well. We'll give it our all, ne?"** Sakura asked her inner self. 'Hell yea!'

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I'm really more excited about the next chapter, though! Thanks to RawrRemy for taking the time to R&R my first fanfic. Yay! My first reviewer! And thank you, Renalin for giving your suggestions. I'm not sure if I used them or not, but I hope after editting the second time,I was able to make my chapter a bit better. Yikes! I'm posting this on Friday the 13th.

**_Important notice to readers who do not have a account:_**

**_I posted this on my profile page, but to anyone that would like to(and I would lurve you if you did!) review, you can now without an account. I enabled the anonymous reviewer setting. So, I hope more review! Thanks to anyone that read the story. I'm already quite glad that I got some hits, hopefully meaning the people read the fic, and hopefully, those hits weren't just 4 people or something (and I highly think that's what happened) but anyways, review! I will try to make the next chapter good and long. _**

Next possible update: April 20-April 22, 2007 If not then, the week after or sometime during the week of the 23rd. I still haven't really got the next chap all done and wrapped up, but I'm workin' on it!

I hope people have been reading this and enjoying! Well, ja ne and arigatou to all you readers! Hopefully, you'll be my reviewers soon, too. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors.

Kikoru 3


	3. Chapter III: The Crazy Gym Period

High School Life!: Year 1

Chapter III: Dodgeball, Volleyball, Basketball! I Can Play it All! Right?

* * *

by Kikoru Sijan

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto.

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

The six first year classes all went to the gym locker room to change. Boys in the boys' locker room, and girls in the girls' locker room. All the gym uniforms were in the lockers they were assigned, with the right size and all.

_With Sakura, Hinata, and Ino_

"Wow! We got our lockers right next to each other!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes. That's nice," Hinata said, no longer stuttering.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, you're not stuttering anymore!" Sakura said, surprised.

"Yea, Hinata doesn't stutter once she gets used to you and you're closer to her. She's not as shy and nervous," Ino explained.

"Ah! That's great Hinata-chan! I'm sure I'll get to know you better if you aren't and shy and speak to me more. Now, Hyuuga Hinata," Sakura said, first enthusiastic than serious, "…we're officially good friends, right?!"

"Hai, Sakura-chan!" Hinata replied laughing. Ino and Sakura burst out laughing soon as well.

"Hey! You guys should change soon. It's almost time for gym!" a girl next to them said while tying her light blue hair up with a dark blue ribbon. The three laughing girls immediately began changing into their uniforms as the girl ran out of the room. Sakura tied her hair up in a high ponytail with her red ribbon. Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were the last to get out of the girls' locker room. Apparently, some guys took longer changing. **"How strange. I thought guys changed faster. I guess I thought wrong."**

'Whoever knew! I think girls really _are_ better than boys!" Inner Sakura piped.

"**Don't underestimate them. Some guys came out!"**

'Fine, you party pooper!' After a few minutes, everyone was in the gym in front of the gym teacher.

"HELLO, YOU YOUNGSTERS. I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE A LOT OF YOUTH WITHIN YOU, SO 30 LAPS AROUND THE GYM! START!" the teacher yelled. "AND BY THE WAY, MY NAME IS MAITO GAI. CALL ME GAI-SENSEI! AND I AM _MUCH_ BETTER THAN THAT HATAKE KAKASHI!" Many students sweat dropped. The same thought crossed the mind of every student in the room:

'Are _all _the teachers in Konoha High _this weird_?' However, everyone began their laps. Many fangirls, including Mitsuki, were tired after half a lap, panting and walking slowly. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were jogging at the same speed, ahead of many of the girls, even passing some guys. The girl with light blue hair caught up to them.

"Hi," she said while jogging. "I'm Suiton Kasumi. Who're you guys?"

Sakura's green eyes looked into Kasumi's dark blue one's. "Haruno Sakura. The blond here is Yamanaka Ino, and the other is Hyuuga Hinata."

"Nice-pant-to meet-pant- you," Kasumi said. Sakura nodded. The four girls finished the rest of their laps, with some girls (mostly fangirls) and two or three boys still jogging. After everyone was finished with their laps, Gai's voice rang through the gym.

"How'd you like you're run? Now let's play some dodgeball, first. Get ready! Your teammates will be 5 people in your class for volleyball and basketball, since each class has 18 people, there will be three groups for every class. That will mean there are 18 teams. But for dodgeball, your team will be your class. This will be done tournament style, and the gym will be split in half, with two teams playing at a time. One team will verse another, meaning one game at a time. When I say stop, the team with the most people left on it will be the winner!" the gym teacher, Gai-sensei said. "Hai!"

"Also, after this, it's volleyball in tournament style, too. The gym will have two sides, with two games playing at a time. I will assign teams when it's time. Then it's basketball with one game at a time! Got it?!"

"Hai!"

"**This is going to be a LONG gym period,"** Sakura thought.

'Tell me about it,' Inner Sakura said. Sakura sighed. "**Oh, well. We'll give it our all, ne?" **Sakura asked her inner self. 'Hell yea!'

* * *

The dodgeball tornament started, and guess what? It was class 1 versus class 3. **"Oh, great! We get the first game," **Sakura thought sarcastically. She readied herself on class 3's side of the gym. She readied herself. She glanced around her side of the gym, seeing Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, and two other people having the ball. "OKAY! GET STARTED!" Balls flew into the air from both sides. Two were hit from class 3 and three were hit from class 1.

"**Okay, so far so good," **Sakura thought, but then she looked at the other side of the gym. Sasuke's fangirls were out to get her. Five of them had a ball, including Mitsuki, who happened to be in class 1. They all threw the ball at Sakura, who at the time was one of the best dodgers and a valuable player, from different directions. Mitsuki right in front, two from the upper left, and two from the upper right, like this: \ \ /

"**Shit! How am I gonna dodge that?!" **Sakura ducked from the four on the right and the left to see the center ball coming right at her when she fell. **"Shoot! I have no time to move!" **On the other side, Mitsuki had a triumphant smirk on her face, hands on her hips. Apparently, everyone stopped to see what would happen to Sakura. Most already thought she was going to get hit and started to turn away. When the ball was inches away from her face, Sakura closed her eyes tightly. **"It's gonna hit me! It's gonna hit me!" **But no, the feeling never came. With her eyes still closed she heard gasps, whispers, and cries of, "Why did you do that, Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura slowly opened one eye and peeked around before then opening her other eye. In front of her, she saw Sasuke holding a dodgeball in his hands, kneeling. "Why did you do that, Sasuke-kun?!" Mitsuki cried again. Sasuke smirked.

"It's for a teammate…and a friend," Sasuke answered. "Now, Mitsuki, I believe you're out. I caught the ball." Mitsuki stared at him wide-eyed before stomping off furiously to the bench. "Ino, you're back in." Ino stood from the bench and got back into the game. **"I can't believe he saved me…and I'm his…friend," **Sakura thought. She quickly turned back to the game. A ball could be coming any moment, and somebody might not be there to protect her again.

* * *

The tournament went on, with the rankings as followed:

1. Class 1-3: 4 wins, 0 losses

1. Class 1-5: 4 wins, 0 losses

2. Class 1-2: 2 wins, 2 losses

2. Class 1-6: 2 wins, 2 losses

3. Class 1-4: 1 wins, 3 losses

4. Class 1-1: 0 wins, 4 losses

"OKAY! CLASSES 1-1 AND 1-4, YOUR RANKINGS ARE DETERMINED. WE WILL SAVE THE MATCH FOR FIRST FOR LAST, SO CLASSES 1-2 AND 1-6, GET OUT THERE! LET'S SEE WHICH CLASS HAS MORE SPRINGTIME YOUTH!" Gai's voice boomed through the gym. The time gave everyone's favorite class, 1-3, time to rest. Sakura sat down and drank some water. Next to her, Sasuke drank his water. After Sakura finished gulping down the water, she turned to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, why'd you save me?" she asked. Sasuke shrugged and said, "Did I not explain before?" Sakura nodded and bothered him no longer. They watched the rest of the game to see who would get third place and who would get fourth. (A/N: Since the rankings will be moved back. So loser of the final match would be second, and so the winner of the semi-final match is third and so on.)

* * *

From the top part of the benches Ino looked at Sakura and Sasuke. "Hinata! Look!" She said pointing at Sasuke and Sakura. Hinata looked in the direction of Ino's finger. She gave Ino a questioning look. "Duh! They're having a bonding moment!" Ino whispered excitedly. Hinata just looked on and shrugged. "I-I guess s-so…O-oh! L-look, o-our m-match is u-up."

"…1-6 won. Oookay. I thought they would win," Ino commented before standing up and going toward the 'battle grounds' with Hinata.

"OKAY THIS IS THE FINAL MATCH OF YOUTH! WHOOOOOOOOOOO WILL HAVE MORE YOUUUUUUUUUUTH?! CLASS 1-3 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR CLASS 1-5?! LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!" Gai shouted through the gym. Many people sweat dropped.

"**Don't have to scream about it," **Sakura thought, sweat dropping.

"**Don't have to scream about it,"** Ino thought, sweat dropping.

"**Don't have to scream about it," **Hinata thought, sweat dropping.

"**Don't have to scream about it," **Naruto thought, sweat dropping.

"**Ch…why is he so troublesome. Can't be a little quiet," **Shikamaru thought with an irritated look.

"**DID YOU FREAKIN' HAVE TO BREAK THE CHAIN THAT WAS GOING ON?!" **Ino screamed in his thoughts.

"**W-wha! How'd you get in my mind?!" **Shikamaru thought, surprised.

"**Family secret!" **Ino replied. **"Now get back in the match!"**

"**Yes ma'am!" **Shikamaru answered, a _'little'_ bit freaked out. For once, his intelligence could not help him figure this mystery out. Now back to the match.

Both teams were ready. This time, each team only had 3 dodgeballs. "GO!" Gai yelled. Shikamaru got hit the first time so he could sit down and watch and be lazy and sleep, etc. **"That Shikamaru! I'm gonna kill him! Let's get him back in first," **Ino thought with a crooked smile. She executed a type of mind technique, specialty of the Yamanaka family, besides flowers, and got an opponent to throw the ball at her, so she could catch it. "Shika-kun! Guess what! You're back in!" the young Yamanaka said in a sing-song voice. Shikamaru mumbled something along the lines of, "Troublesome game…Troublesome women…" Once again Ino invaded Shikamaru's mind, and somehow persuaded coughcoughthreatenedcoughcough him to play seriously, though many saw his eyes wide like this: O.O the whole game. Poor, poor Shika-kun! Okay, now we're SERIOUSLY back to the match.

* * *

Class 1-3 was down to the rookie nine, while class 1-5 still had 14 people standing. Two balls were in the possession of 1-3, and the other four with class 1-5. Naruto and Shikamaru had the ball, the two being quite good throwers. The four with the ball in class 1-5 waited. It was their chance to get somebody, and they already learned the rookie nine were best together in groups of three. If one got out of a group, that three-man team crumbled. Shikamaru saw the other team noticed how they played and switched the formation immediately. He got the girls in the middle row, seeing they were the best dodgers. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto stood in the front row, being the best throwers. They were mostly the balanced players, since they're catching and dodging was good as well. The back row consisted of Kiba, Shino, and Chouji. They were the best catchers, since Kiba was quite fast, Chouji had long arms, and Shino was pretty accurate at reading where the ball went. Kiba's speed made him a good dodger, and Shino's accuracy was also allowed him to dodge well. Chouji wasn't as good at dodging, but he was good at throwing, due to his coughcoughbigcoughcough diet, he had much strength. So there was Shikamaru's formation. He made some hand signals to who went where quickly, before any ball was thrown. Apparently, class 1-5 was trying to understand the situation. The smirk on their faces was wiped off to be replaced with a look of confusion. Shikamaru saw the chance to fire. Shikamaru signaled Naruto to throw. They both threw and got 2 players out, with a dumbfounded look still on the other class's faces.

"GET ON WITH IT ALREADY, YOU LOSERS!" Sasuke yelled, getting impatient and snapping the other class from their trance. They couldn't do anything if they didn't have any balls to throw at them. Suddenly, two balls were fired at Sasuke at the same time. He jumped over one and dodged the other by moving to the side. Sakura, who was behind him, dodged one as well, but the other that Sasuke jumped over already hit the ground, and was picked up by her. She looked at Shikamaru, who nodded. She then signaled for Sasuke to move. Sasuke hesitated, before moving to the side. Sakura smiled before running and throwing the ball. "KYAA! TAKE THAT!" Sakura yelled, punching her fist in the air and jumping when the ball hit somebody. Apparently, one person wasn't enough, and it bounced off the hit person to hit another. Everyone sweat dropped. **"Ooooooooooookay…" **Sasuke thought, surprisingly sweat dropping as well. **"Well anyways, it got people out…"**

"Hey! Does that even count as two people out?" a girl, who was hit second, asked Gai. Gai smiled-AHHHHHHHH! THE LIGHT! THE LIGHT! THE TEETH OF LIGHT!-doing the nice guy pose. "OF COURSE IT DOES! IT DIDN'T BOUNCE ON THE FLOOR!"

Shikamaru sighed in relief, as Sakura did a little victory dance, before getting back into the game. They just needed one more out to win. Currently, it seemed only about 30 seconds were left…and a ball came flying towards Shikamaru. He quickly ducked as Ino dodged. Chouji, who was behind the two, let the ball bounce and threw it at a player, near the feet. He almost dodged, but was hit anyway. Chouji took his spot again, but as soon as Chouji was in the middle row, Kiba, who got the ball that Sasuke and Sakura dodged, quickly went to the front line and threw, faster and more surprising than anyone could see. And, it managed to 'magically' hit and bounce off of every person until it landed, ending the game. With the last person, a blur of white and brown managed to camouflage with a moving shoe. And Akamaru, Kiba's dog, was gone, but Kiba was grinning none the less. "Nice job…Akamaru."

* * *

"CLASS 1-3 HAS PROVEN TO HAVE THE MOST YOUTH. WHO IS YOU'RE HOMEROOM TEACHER?" Gai asked.

"Hatake Kakashi," the students of class 1-3 replied in monotone voices. Gai's eyes widened before mumbling something like, "You win again this time…this time…" With Gai's naturally-or maybe not- loud voice, his whisper was heard throughout the gym, and every student sweat dropped. Gai picked his head up again and smiled. "TIME FOR VOLLEYBALL! These are also the teams for basketball, by the way. And the teams are for class 1-1..." and so on, and Gai read down from his clipboard. He got to class 1-3, and after a few groups he called, "Haruno, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyuuga-ah! You're not in this cla-…oh yes the cousin-, Nara, and Yamanaka." And he continued on with the other classes.

* * *

The six passed the preliminaries easily, beating the teams they versed. Finally, they got to the semi-finals, in where they versed three of Sakura's fanboys and three of Sasuke's fangirls. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, then at their fans, before looking back at each other and sweat dropping. Sakura sighed and grinned with her head held low. "This is gonna be _too_ easy," she said. Sasuke smirked in response and nodded. The fanboys/fangirls were already oogling over the two. Sakura giggled and Sasuke snickered. The two blonds were a bit confused. They had questioning looks on their faces. Shikamaru sighed and explained. "Well, the people on the other side are……..fans." Naruto and Ino immediately understood and muttered, "Oh…"

"OKAY! NOW SHOW YOUR YOUTH AND START! THE GAME ENDS WHEN ONE TEAM HAS SEVEN POINTS!" Gai yelled, announcing the beginning of the match. Ino served the ball to the other side, and easily made the point, because the fangirls/fanboys were too…occupied? The game continued in this manner, and the six won. Ino cheered, "Yes! Thank you Sakura and Sasuke for having fangirls and fanboys!" Everyone sweat dropped. Oooooookay…

Now to the biggest match, the finals! The six versed another team composed of Kasumi, one other girl, and four guys. They were actually serious. **"Finally, a real game!" **Sasuke thought. Sakura served this time. The ball flew in the air and over the net, before the other girl bumped it and passed to Kasumi. Kasumi bumped it, and a boy jumped and spiked. The ball almost hit the ground, but Hinata, who was playing front right, saved it by bumping it before it hit the floor. Ino, who was playing front center, set it over the net. **"Damn it! We almost lost that!"** Sakura thought from her position. The ball came her way before she knew it, but she reacted quickly and bumped it, passing to Hinata, who was in front of her. Hinata bumped it and passed Naruto, who was in front left. Naruto jumped high and spiked, surprising the other team, who missed the save. Kasumi had a shocked look on her face, but she said, "Nice job…but it's not over yet!" Then she smiled. The girls felt relieved Kasumi wasn't mad. Naruto nearby did a victory dance. "Yay! I scored a point!"

"**Whew! I thought she was gonna kill us there! Well, I guess not…"** Sakura thought.

'Well of course not! But we'll show them! It _is_ over, suckas!' Inner Sakura chimed. Sakura sweat dropped at her inner's actions.

"**Oooooookay…Let's get back to the game. Hm…two to zero, us."**

Sakura served once again, and the ball flew in the air. The other girl bumped it from the back, and an boy in the front center tried to spike it, but failed miserably, with the ball hitting the back of his hand and bouncing to the floor below him. Everyone sweat dropped.

"**How could such a pathetic team make the finals?"** Shikamaru thought.

"**I don't know, Shika-kun. Isn't it weird?"** Ino thought in Shikamaru's thoughts.

"**Sure is…"** Shikamaru thought before getting back into the game. Sakura served again, but this time, one guy bumped it, and Kasumi quickly jumped into the air, blue ponytail bouncing upward. With all her strength, she spiked it to the ground, and got a point for her team. She smirked, her team finally got a point. Sakura stared at Kasumi in awe, before glancing at her teammates. They wanted her in center front, _now_. She was the only one that could to it. Sakura switched with Ino, and they waited for the other team's serve. The ball flew over and behind Sakura, where Sasuke was. She glanced at him, and he nodded. The team had a secret code Shikamaru made up, and it was very useful. Sakura now knew why Shikamaru, and inwardly thanked Shikamaru. Sasuke bumped the ball to in front of him, where Sakura was. She jumped and slammed her hard down on the ball. The ball went strangely fast, and in the blink of an eye, it was in the ground. A dent was made in the ground, and the ball was stuck in it. Everyone, except the six, stared wide-eyed at Sakura's strength.

"Erm…I have super human strength?" Sakura said nervously, rubbing the back of her head and grinning sheepishly.

_Moment of silence_

"SUCH YOUTH! I DECLARE HARUNO-SAN'S TEAM WINNER!" Gai exclaimed, breaking the silence. Cheers were heard, especially from Ino, Naruto, and Sakura.

"Hell yea! We won!" Ino exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "Great job, forehead!" Sakura giggled. "Thanks!"

"Yay! Sakura-chan, you were so awesome! Teach me how to do that sometime!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and down. Sakura laughed. "Sure!" Shikamaru already began dosing off, and Hinata was shyly congratulating Sakura, since Naruto being there made her nervous. Sakura laughed and smiled at her friends, while Sasuke just watched Sakura's happy figure from afar.

* * *

'Man! She's hot _and_ strong!'

"**What! You again!" **Sasuke snarled at his inner.

'Hehe! Yup! It's me! I'm so glad you didn't forget me, Sasu-chan!' his inner said in a high pitched voice.

"**Shut up! You're annoying and sick!"**

'Aw! Sasu-chan cares if I'm sick! I am so touched!'

"**Just. Get. Out. And I do **_**not**_** think Sakura is hot!"**

'_Right_. But, I'll be leaving now!' and with that, Inner Sasuke left with a poof. Sasuke sighed in relief. He finally got rid of his annoying inner. His gaze shifted back to Sakura chatting with Ino and Hinata. Sasuke shook his head. **"There's no way…"

* * *

**

Sakura was speaking excitedly with Ino and Hinata about the recent volleyball match. The two were complimenting Sakura constantly on her last move, which won the game. Kasumi even congratulated her. "You were awesome," Sakura remembered Kasumi saying.

"Hey! Forehead-girl, you there?!" Ino exclaimed, waving a hand in front of Sakura's face. Sakura blinked rapidly.

"Oh! Yea, I'm fine. Just thinking..."

"Okay, Sakura-chan. But don't stress yourself out…" Hinata said, concerned. Sakura smiled back.

"It's okay! I won't, promise!" The three began to chat more about the game and a bit about how all the teachers Konoha High were so weird. In the middle of it, Sakura couldn't help but notice a certain Uchiha staring at her. **"I wonder what's in his mind…Could it be me? Nah! Sasuke-kun just thinks of me as a friend,"** Sakura thought. For some reason, this made her sad. **"Why am I sad now! I shouldn't be sad! There's nothing to be sad about! We just won **_**two**_** games!" **Sakura walked away to get some water, still thinking about Sasuke.

* * *

"OKAY, STUDENTS OF YOUTH! OUR SHORT BREAK IS OVER! I HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT OPTIONAL! SO YOU CAN COMPETE, AND WITH THE PEOPLE I HAVE, I WILL CHOOSE THE TEAMS!" Gai said, more like yelled. Many girls chose to stay out of the game, and many guys decided they were too tired. In the end ten people stepped up, which equaled one match. So much for a tournament. The ten were Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru (who was dragged by Ino), Kasumi, the girl who played volleyball with Kasumi, and three other guys. Gai sighed before going back into his normal demeanor. "YOSH! YAMANAKA, UZUMAKI, UCHIHA, HARUNO, AND NARA ARE ON ONE TEAM WHILE SUITON AND THE OTHERS ARE ON THE OPPOSING TEAM! NOW PLAY! FIRST TO MAKE FIVE POINTS WINS!" and Gai threw a basketball to Sasuke, who was playing shooting guard. He wasted no time and dribbled down the court, when one guy tried to block him. He glanced around before seeing Naruto open. **"Perfect. Just the person I need to pass to."**

"Dobe! Heads up!" Sasuke yelled before passing to Naruto, the small forward. Naruto jumped in the air and caught the ball before dribbling more and shooting from the three point line. 'Swoosh' The ball went in, and many cheers were heard. Hinata, being more of the quiet type, silently cheered him on. **"Naruto-kun, you're so great…"**

Shikamaru, the center, quickly checked the ball to one of the guy players on the other team. The guy dodged past Shikamaru only to find Sakura, the point guard, steal from him. "Crap!" the guy muttered under his breath while trying to catch up with Sakura, who was quite fast. She made an unexpected and sharp turn and passed quickly to Ino, the power forward, who shot. The ball spun at the edge of the basket, leaving suspenseful moment. Everyone stared at the ball. It spun some more before falling in and hitting the ground. "Yatta!" Ino exclaimed. "I did it!" Apparently, this was the fifth point. Aw…what a short game. Many were glad to be out of gym.

* * *

"Finally!" Sakura said while walking to the locker room with Ino and Hinata. "I'm so tired from gym!"

"Me, too, forehead-girl. Me, too," Ino replied. Hinata nodded in agreement. Gym class ended. Now it was time for something boys and Ino dreaded.

Home economics, a.k.a. cooking class.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Utensils?! Ingredients?! Ino's Cooking?! A Scavenger Hunt Begins!

"Welcome to home economics, or cooking class. I am Shizune, and I will be your teacher for this class," a lady with short, dark hair and dark eyes said at the front of the room. "I am also the secretary. The principal has decided to do something fun. We will have a scavenger hunt for any ingredients or utensils. You must get all of them on the list, and find a way to utilize them to make food. You will be put in pairs. The things are scattered on campus, so you will find them soon enough! Now the partners are…"

* * *

A/N: I wrote a longer chappie this time! You don't know how much effort I put in here! I might not post for a while. I might. Since my father is coming home, and rules are stricter. I'll try to get most of the chappie done and posted before next Friday night, when he returns. I hope I can, and if I can't, I'm really sorry, so I can't predict the date of the next chappie this time! Thanks to all you reviewers, and I really actually don't know much about basketball, I kinda looked it up! . I don't know the positions and stuffs. Read and review! Me givers you a fudge brownie if you do! With a crispy top and a soft, chewy, chocolately inside! 


	4. Chapter IV: Scavenger Hunt!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter IV: Utensils?! Ingredients?! Ino's Cooking REVEALED?! A Scavenger Hunt Begins!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

Sakura walked with Ino, Hinata, and Tenten to the home economics classroom. They didn't really need any books, so their hands were book-free. They were speaking with Tenten about why she was still in first year home economics, and let's just say our dear bun-haired girl was not very pleased with a certain _someone._

"It was that damn Hyuuga's fault! No offence to your family of course, Hinata," Tenten yelled, before lowering her voice to apologize to Hinata. Hinata just nodded and waved her hand, signaling Tenten to continue her explanation of why Hyuuga Neji was a bastard. "Well, we just _happened_ to become partners for our home ec. class. It's not my fate to be with Lee my ass! He just didn't want to be with that freak, and he only knew me and Lee, so he had to choose one of us, you see. I asked him he was good at cooking. He said that he wasn't _too _bad. Oh sure, he wasn't that bad, BUT HE WAS BAD ENOUGH TO GET US A FAILING GRADE LAST YEAR!" Everyone in the hall turned to the exploding Tenten and stared at her. She glared back, but nobody moved a muscle until Ino laughed a nervous laugh, turned to the crowd, and said, "Move along now! Nothing to see here!" She turned back to Tenten, who was flailing her arms in anger.

"And now, I found out that I have to repeat that horrible class with Neji, and all the other second years get free period! Man, I can't stand him! He acts like he has a stick up his ass!" Tenten rambled on about how Neji was stupid, a jerk, mean, cold-hearted, arrogant, egotistic, etc.

The four girls finally reached the classroom, and slid the door open. They found empty desks, no materials what so ever. Some people were already seated, so Ino sat with Sakura and Tenten sat with Hinata. Each table was for two people. The partners would be assigned afterward, except Tenten and Neji, since their partnership was assigned last year. Tenten chatted with Hinata about many of the classes and programs the school had, while Ino and Sakura wondered who would be their partners. A few more people filled the classroom, including Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Neji. They took some seats, Naruto with Shikamaru, Sasuke with Neji.

"Hyuuga, I can't believe you couldn't pass _cooking_," Sasuke sneered, his lips curved into a smirk. Neji scowled. "It's harder than you think, Uchiha."

"Oh, look how sad. You dragged bun-girl with you, too."

"Her names Tenten, and the only reason she's here is because I was her partner."

"Oh, so she's actually a _good_ cook?"

"Uchiha, she's actually a _very_ good cook, but I was just…too arrogant to let her do most of the foods, so we failed in the end."

"Hn. So you admit it."

"Uchiha, don't push it," Neji said, ending the conversation after giving Sasuke a glare. Sasuke just smirked back and shrugged the glare off. The door slid open to reveal the teacher.

* * *

The woman walked to the front of the room and smiled. Her dark eyes scanned the room to see if all the seats were filled, which they were. She looked down at the piece of paper she was holding before looking up again. "Welcome to home economics, or cooking class. I am Shizune, and I will be your teacher for this class," the woman said. "I am also the school's secretary. I spoke with the Principal Tsunade, and she has decided to do something fun. We will have a scavenger hunt for any ingredients or utensils. You must get all of them on the list, and find a way to utilize them to make food. You will be put in pairs for the scavenger hunt and your partners will be the one you will work with for the school year. Tenten and Hyuuga Neji from year two, you will once again be partners, and I _hope_ that this time you two will be able to pass, especially _you_, Neji-san." Many first years gasped when they heard this, and some snickered, like Naruto and Sasuke. Some like Hinata, Ino, and Sakura weren't surprised at all. They heard the news. In seconds whispers were heard throughout the room with people saying things like, "_The_ Hyuuga Neji can't cook!" "This is so surprising!" "I heard Tenten can but Neji failed, so she failed, too." etc. The said Hyuuga was red from rage and blushing from embarrassment. Next to him, Tenten scowled a bit. She glared at the people that caught her eyes, and in them, they saw a murderous glint. Someone covered their eyes when Tenten glared and screamed, "AH! MY EYES! MY POOR VIRGIN EYES…wait, I'm not a virgin." Students looked at him with wide eyes. One boy shouted, "You _already_…" but was too horrified to finish the sentence. Everyone in the room shivered in disgust before turning back to Shizune, who had an expression that seemed shocked and pissed at the same time. 

"O…kay," Shizune seethed through clenched teeth, now officially just pissed. "I will assign the partners now, please move to the table I point to when I call your names and the ones that sat there before, stand and come to the room before it is your turn to be seated. Tenten, Neji, go table 1." She looked at her list while the two walked to the table. The two previously sitting there got up so the Hyuuga and his companion could sit. "Hm…" Shizune said, her eyes moving, scanning the list she had. "Okay…Hyuuga Hinata and…….Uzumaki Naruto? Did I get your names right?" The said two nodded, though Hinata was blushing six shades of red. "Okay than. Table 2!" She called off a few more people on her list. "Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, ta-"

"WHAT! YOU PUT SASUKE-KUN WITH THAT SLUT!" Mitsuki interrupted, hazel eyes flashing angrily. Sasuke rolled his eyes, as Sakura glared at Mitsuki.

"For your information, you're more of a slut than me. Have you even seen how short you cut your skirt. Yes, I know you cut it, because in the bathroom I saw strips of cloth _and_ your skirt is shorter than everyone else's. So you have no right to freaking call me a damn slut because you are one, and I am most certainly not as slutty as you fangirls. Your uniforms are disgustingly revealing and you guys walk like you're elephants, trying to look sexy and shaking your sick ass," Sakura said. Mitsuki's eyes glowered with rage, her face completely red. She pointed at Sasuke. "Tell her she's wrong, Sasuke-kun."

"Why, I can't do that Mitsuki. If I did, that would be lying," Sasuke replied coolly. Sakura just looked at Mitsuki and stuck her tongue out. 'Shanarro! You told her off!' Sakura's inner self cheered, punching her air in the fist. Mitsuki jaw dropped before turning even more red, if that was possible. Here Shizune, decided to intervene. She coughed to get everyone's attention before beginning.

"Okay. Sakura and Sasuke, please go to table number 5, and Mitsuki, please do not shout out in class. The next pair…hm…Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka In-"

"I'M STUCK WITH THAT LAZY ASS!!!" Ino yelled, trying to switch partners. She had anime waterfall tears in her eyes, and she was on her knees. Shizune just shook her head, and pointed to the sixth table. **"Children these days. So rude and noisy."** Shikamaru dragged Ino to the table mumbling something along the lines of, "Troublesome woman…so heavy." Apparently Ino heard this and jumped up. Shikamaru expected her to yell, but she just smiled a sickly sweet smile before whispering something in Shikamaru's ear. Shikamaru eyes widened and her quickly straightened before sitting in his seat. From the other table, Sakura looked at Ino with questioning eyes. The Yamanaka grinned and mouthed, "I'll tell you later." So the assigning went on until everyone was seated.

"Okay, now like I said, we have a scavenger hunt for the ingredients and utensils. You are _not_ allowed to go somewhere and buy them, you _must _get it from here. And we know if you did buy it from somewhere else, because the utensils at Konoha are special! And the ingredients, you wouldn't know what brand we might have gotten it from, so _don't _get any ideas like that. The things are scattered around campus, and I assure you they will not be outside of the gates. They can be anywhere, even the bathroom, so that is why I paired you in boy-girl groups. It may be in the bathroom, but nothing disgusting like the toilet itself or the garbage. I assure you the things are not in dirty places, because to cook you need clean tools. They will not be in any of the occupied classrooms, for you will be disturbing the class if you enter a classroom that is being used. Any empty classrooms may or may not have what you're looking for. If you want a clue, you can come to the classroom and ask me, but you will only get three clues, so you can only come back three times, not including coming back after you found all the items. I will call your table numbers so you can come up and get your list for the scavenger. After that, you will return to the classroom and try to make something out of the things you find. You don't have to use everything, though. Okay, does everybody understand?" Shizune explained. Everyone nodded their heads. "Hai, Shizune-sensei!" So one by one, pairs walked up to the front and got their papers.

* * *

_Sakura and Sasuke_

"Okay, Sasuke-kun. What does it say?" Sakura asked, trying to look at the sheet they received from Shizune. "Wow, this school is so weird. First Gai-sensei in gym, and now this weird scavenger hunt. They make Kakashi reading porn during class instead of teaching 'normal'." Sasuke just shrugged before turning his obsidian eyes to the sheet. His eyes scanned the sheet quickly before passing it to Sakura.

"Good thing there aren't a whole bunch of things to get…except for the ingredients" Sakura mumbled. She looked down at the list again. **"This is going to take longer than I thought."** The paper said:

_**Group:**_ _Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke_

_**Class:**_ _Class 1-3_

_**Table:**_ _Table 5_

_Utensils_

_Medium-sized pot_

_Wooden spoon_

_Cutting board_

_Vegetable knife_

_Ingredients_

_Milk (in a pint carton)_

_Soy sauce (in a bottle)_

_Curry powder (in a packet)_

_Carrots (there should be three)_

_Potatoes (there should be two)_

_Tomatoes (there should be six) _(at this Sasuke grinned. Oh yes, they would have extras)

_Onion (there should be two)_

_Garlic (there should be three)_

_Okay! Now enjoy the scavenger hunt! Don't worry, everybody got a different sheet with different things, so nobody will take your stuff! Your time limit is one hour, and that includes the cooking! So hurry! The waiting time does not count, because Shizune will check the food after it is finished cooking if you cannot wait for the food to finish cooking. Any items that are in multiple quantities are in the same area. Seasoning is in the class. You can use any utensils that are in the home economics classroom as well. On the back of this sheet is an attached map of the school campus. Again, have fun little kiddies! _

_-Principal Tsunade_

Sakura grabbed Sasuke. "C'mon! We have to hurry if we want to finish this in an hour! Though it's pretty obvious they want us to make curry."

"Hn." And the two ran up the stairs as quick as they could, with Sasuke in the lead, grabbing Sakura's wrist.

"Why are you going so fast?!" Sakura asked. Sasuke didn't turn back but replied, "The sooner we get this over with, the better. I don't feel like anymore freakish assignments. Sakura nodded in understanding. "Okay…"

* * *

_Naruto and Hinata_

Naruto and Hinata exited the classroom. "Hinata-chan, can you read the sheet out loud?" Naruto asked.

"S-sure," Hinata said, trying not to stutter. She cleared her throat and began to read, without stuttering.

_**Group:**_ _Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto_

_**Class:**_ _Class 1-3_

_**Table:**_ _Table 2_

_Utensils_

_Stainless metal tray_

_Bowl_

_Plastic spatula_

_Mixing machine (do not find, should be in room in one of cabinets if needed)_

_Ingredients_

_Butter (somewhere where it won't melt)_

_Chocolate chips (in a plastic bag)_

_Brownie mix (in a package)_

_Eggs (carton, somewhere where they won't break)_

_Milk (somewhere where it won't get spoiled, in a gallon container)_

_Vegetable oil_

_Okay! Now enjoy the scavenger hunt! Don't worry, everybody got a different sheet with different things, so nobody will take your stuff! Your time limit is one hour, and that includes the cooking! So hurry! The waiting time does not count, because Shizune will check the food after it is finished cooking if you cannot wait for the food to finish cooking. Any items that are in multiple quantities are in the same area. Seasoning is in the class You can use any utensils that are in the home economics classroom as well. On the back of this sheet is an attached map of the school campus. Again, have fun little kiddies! _

_-Principal Tsunade_

Hinata sweat dropped after reading the paper. **"It's too obvious they want us to make brownies…"**

Naruto's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, Hinata-chan! So what do we make?" Hinata sweat dropped again. **"I know I like him, but sometimes, he's way too dense." **Hinata sighed. "Naruto-kun, if we can find all the ingredients, we'll be making brownies."

"Hey, you're not stuttering!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata blushed. "I guess I-I'm a bit used t-to y-you."

"Hinata-chan, I like it better if you don't stutter. Can you try not to anymore?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded, blush deepening. "Okay…for you Naruto-kun," Hinata said, with the last part of the sentence softer than a whisper. Naruto didn't seem to hear the last part so he grinned. "That's right, Hinata-chan! Now let's go…wait, where do we go?" Just then, Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura running up the stairs. He pointed at them. "Hinata-chan, let's go upstairs first. What room do you want to check?"

"How about the teacher's lounge?" Hinata suggested. Naruto brightened. "Sure! That's a great idea. You're so smart, Hinata-chan!" And off the cou-I mean pair- went…

* * *

_Ino and Shikamaru_

Shikamaru held the paper in his hand, with one eye closed and the other half-open. "So troublesome…" he mumbled as he scanned the paper with his half-open eye. He leaned against the wall, his free hand stuffed in his pocket. Ino stood beside him. Slowly, she became angered and started pulling her hair out. She was waiting for Shikamaru to give her the paper, but he still didn't hand it over. **"Does it really take **_**that**_** long to read!"** she thought, enraged. "Yo! Lazy ass! Hand the sheet over!" Ino yelled. Shikamaru jumped, startled.

"W-wha?!"

"Don't tell me you fell asleep!"

"So what if I did, and who said I would tell you anyway."

"Argh! Just give me the paper!!!"

"Fine, fine…troublesome woman…" Ino grabbed the paper from Shikamaru's grasp and read it.

_**Group:**_ _Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru_

_**Class:**_ _Class 1-3_

_**Table:**_ _Table 6_

_Utensils_

_Medium-sized pot_

_Cutting board_

_Vegetable knife_

_Wooden spoon_

_Big cooking pan_

_Ingredients_

_Linguine (2-3 packets, a type of pasta)_

_Tomato sauce (one jar)_

_Basil (small plastic container)_

_Garlic (one)_

_Butter (one stick)_

_Okay! Now enjoy the scavenger hunt! Don't worry, everybody got a different sheet with different things, so nobody will take your stuff! Your time limit is one hour, and that includes the cooking! So hurry! The waiting time does not count, because Shizune will check the food after it is finished cooking if you cannot wait for the food to finish cooking. Any items that are in multiple quantities are in the same area. Seasoning is in the class You can use any utensils that are in the home economics classroom as well. On the back of this sheet is an attached map of the school campus. Again, have fun little kiddies! _

_-Principal Tsunade_

"Okay, Shika-kun, so I think we have to make spaghetti," Ino said after analyzing the sheet. "It's a bit obvious…Let's go!" Ino grabbed Shikamaru's wrist, who woke up with a jolt, before running up the stairs.

* * *

_Tenten and Neji_

"Neji, you analyze the sheet. You're better at that. I'll do the cooking," Tenten said after exiting the classroom. Neji nodded. **"Like I **_**want **_**to be doing the cooking again!" **Neji took the sheet and read it.

_**Group:**_ _Tenten and Hyuuga Neji_

_**Class:**_ _Class 2-1_

_**Table:**_ _Table 1_

_Utensils_

_Big cooking pan_

_Stainless steal spatula_

_Cutting board_

_Vegetable knife_

_Ingredients_

_Eggs (carton, somewhere where they won't break)_

_Green onion (or scallion)_

_Garlic (one)_

_Rice (one rectangular container)_

_Okay! Now enjoy the scavenger hunt! Don't worry, everybody got a different sheet with different things, so nobody will take your stuff! Your time limit is one hour, and that includes the cooking! So hurry! The waiting time does not count, because Shizune will check the food after it is finished cooking if you cannot wait for the food to finish cooking. Any items that are in multiple quantities are in the same area. Seasoning is in the class You can use any utensils that are in the home economics classroom as well. On the back of this sheet is an attached map of the school campus. Again, have fun little kiddies! _

_-Principal Tsunade_

"Hm…looks like egg fried rice," Neji said thoughtfully. Tenten pumped her fist in the year. "That's like my specialty! Let's go!"

* * *

_Teacher's Lounge_

"Looks like nobody tried here yet," Sakura said. Sasuke's sharp eyes looked over the room. No teachers were in sight; they were all in classes teaching. The two began to walk in when they heard a loud, "Sasuke-teme!" Only one person called Sasuke that, and only one person spoke that loud. The two slowly turned their heads to find an extremely red Hinata and a grinning Naruto. A few moments later, Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, _and_ Neji were also in the room, searching. "Hey, can we compare lists?" Sakura said when everyone was in the room. "That way if we find anything, we can give it to each other. The girls all nodded and handed Sakura their sheets. Her eyes widened. "Some of our stuff are the same!" The girls gasped.

"Hm…what can we do?" Sakura thought out loud.

"Um…share?" Shikamaru suggested.

"That's a great idea! We'll share!" Sakura said. The eight split up and found all the things they needed before running back into the home economics classroom. Shizune was reading a novel when the eight came in. She put the novel down and looked up to find the eight students with all the ingredients and items. She smiled. "I guess you guys found them all."

"All? But I thought there were more. The sheet said that everyone had a different list with different items but some things were the same and…oh," Sakura said.

"Exactly! It was a trick. All the things were in the teacher's lounge, someplace where almost nobody would think of looking. Some groups have the same exact list, and I guess you four pairs were the only that could obtain all the items. Now, you guys have to share and start your cooking. I'll be here if you need something in the classroom." 'Whoosh' The eight began to cook.

* * *

_Sasuke and Sakura_

"Okay, Sasuke-kun, I'll do the chopping for fear of you trying to eat the tomatoes," Sakura started, rolling up her sleeves, as Sasuke scowled, "While you heat the water, pour in the powder, and stir." The two quickly did their tasks.

"**Wow, Sakura can seriously chop…"**

'I think she lives by herself, so she knows how to cook…unlike somebody here who only eats onigiri and tomatoes!'

"**Hey, it's simple and easy to make. What else do you expect me to do?"**

"Sasuke-kun, finished! Can you drop these in and keep stirring?" Sakura's voice interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. He nodded and did what he was supposed to do.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke opened his mouth to say, "What?", but a piece of tomato popped into his mouth. He blinked before he began chewing and trying to hide his blush, which he was _almost _successful at. A tinge of pink crossed his cheeks. Sakura smiled. "A little reward! Now I have to go give some of the stuff to Tenten! I'll be right back!" Sakura left while Sasuke just absentmindedly continued to stir.

* * *

_Naruto and Hinata_

"Naruto-kun, we should start now. Can you take some butter and butter the pan? After that, can you heat the oven to the temperature here?" Hinata pointed at the paper. Naruto nodded enthusiastically. He washed his hands before getting some butter and spreading it on the pan. Hinata prepared the mix and started to mix. She got the electric stirrer and used it for a while before using the plastic spatula and making sure the bubbles in the mix were popped. Hinata smiled at the smooth batter and congratulated herself on a job well done.

Meanwhile, Naruto finished buttering the pan by the time Hinata got the electric stirrer out. He washed his hands before pre-heating the oven. As he finished, he watched Hinata's concentrated figure as she mixed, her lilac eyes on the bowl, eyebrows furrowed, trying to smooth the batter out. Naruto smiled.

"**She's always so pretty…" **

"Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun! Are you okay? You seem a bit dazed," Hinata said, her hand waving in front of Naruto's face. Her eyes reflected concern.

"Oh! Hinata-chan! Don't worry, I'm fine! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, back to his normal self. Naruto launched himself at Hinata and bear hugged her. Hinata blushed a deep red, before sighing in relief.

"**Good thing Naruto-kun is okay…"

* * *

**

_Ino and Shikamaru_

"Um…Shikamaru…" Ino whimpered. Shikamaru turned around to see Ino's face buried in her hands. Trying to hold back what seemed like sobs.

"H-hey, Ino…" Shikamaru stammered. He was a genius. He had an IQ of over 200. All that was true, but one thing he didn't know how to handle were crying girls. He looked around to see if anyone could help, but everyone was busy. Shikamaru turned back to Ino. "H-hey, what's the matter?..." Ino sobbed silently.

"I…I can't cook…all my cooking become disasters," Ino rasped in a hoarse voice. Shikamaru's eyes widened. _This _was what was bothering this girl. "It started when I was twelve…"

_Flashback_

"_Ino-chan, mommy and daddy won't come home until ten tonight, so can you please make your own food?" Mrs. Yamanaka said to the twelve year old Ino. Ino nodded._

"_I've seen mommy cook a lot!" Ino exclaimed. Her mother smiled. "Okay, now we'll be going. Bye, honey!" 'Click' The door of the Yamanaka household closed. Ino went to finish her homework. At seven, mini Ino got hungry, so she went to the kitchen to cook something up. _

"_Hm…pasta doesn't seem too hard…" Ino took out the ingredients and tools to make pasta. "Lalalalala..so you do this, and then that," and little Ino kept cooking. _

_An hour later_

'_Boom!' "Ah!!!!" Ino ran out of the house, which was bursting in flames. She ran out to the street and went to the fire station, which was nearby. She pointed to the blaze and stayed at the fire station for the rest of the night until her parents came home…….or to the fire station._

"_Honey! What happened!" Mrs. Yamanaka asked, blue eyes filled with only concern. Ino was still sobbing. Inoichi, Ino's father, stood behind. He, too, was concerned. "I…I was trying to cook…but sniffle kitchen explodeeeeeeeeed," Ino wailed. Her mother hugged her. "It's okay Ino, it's okay…but we have to move." Ino's eyes widened before tears streamed down her face. "What about Sakura-chan!!!!" Mrs. Yamanaka looked sympathetically at her daughter. "I'm sorry…we have to go…"_

_End Flashback_

"So…that's what happened," Ino said, more calm now. Shikamaru sighed.

"But look across the room at table five. Right there. Sakura's there, you still met up in the end, right?" Shikamaru said, pointing at Sakura. Ino looked to her. It was true, though the two had been separated for a while, they met again. "O-okay, Shika-kun. I think I feel better. Thanks…" Ino replied.

"No problem, but let's try to do the cooking together so you won't destroy anything this time. However, I find this very troublesome." At this, Ino giggled. She nodded. Shikamaru heated the water, incase of another fire, and Ino washed the linguine before dumping it in the pot. Shikamaru made the spaghetti with the basil, garlic, butter, and tomato sauce afterward. "Thanks a lot, Shika-kun…" Ino said, blushing slightly. Shikamaru looked at Ino and turned away, blushing as well. "Yea…yea…troublesome…"

* * *

_Neji and Tenten_

Neji reached out to grab the knife and chop, before Tenten slapped his hand. He withdrew quickly and scowled. "What was that for?"

Tenten crossed her arms. "Ahem. You're cooking?" Neji sighed. "Can't I just chop? It's not exactly cooking."

"Okay…I'm gonna go cook and scramble the eggs…" Tenten got some salt and began to cook the eggs while Neji chopped the other ingredients. In a few moments, both were finished. Tenten added the rice in and separated the grains with the spatula before dumping the eggs in. She moved quickly and added the other ingredients, and before anyone knew it, a plate of nice smelling egg fried rice was ready.

"Hm…I always knew you were good at cooking," Neji commented. Tenten blushed.

"My family just owns a Chinese restaurant, so things like this are my specialty. I have to help out sometimes you know…" Tenten replied quite modestly.

"Yea, I know…you took me there before. I have to say, your food is really…nice…" Neji said, blushing and turning away like Shikamaru. Tenten blushed a deeper shade, red enough to rival Hinata's blush.

"Thanks…"

"Okay, it looks like you guys are finished, but I'm afraid the others still aren't. I'll wait for them, since it's already dismissal, and a few should be giving up now. You're free to go home or somewhere. Run along," Shizune said. "And nice job on the food. They look and smell delicious." The eight left the room and went to their lockers to get their stuff. They all met at the front gate.

"Hey! Guys, you wanna go to my family's restaurant for dinner? It's a Chinese restaurant. Neji's been there, but do you guys want to come? We can do some homework before we eat!" Tenten asked. All of the others nodded. "Okay, follow me!"

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Park?! Festival?! Sakura and Sasuke's Stories 

"Hm…I used to go to a park like this with my parents all the time…" Sakura said. " And maybe Ino sometimes, too. She would show me all the flowers."

"Hn. I used to come with my brother or mother sometimes, too. But now they're too busy…" Sasuke said, telling his own story.

"Hehe…well those were the days. I suppose we can't really go back. I'm just glad everyone came today…"

* * *

A/N: The next chappie is more like a filler chapter…It basically digs a little into Sakura and Sasuke's pasts. Well, I didn't get many reviews this week, but I'm still happy I have a little over 400 hits…Oh well! My father is coming home on Sunday now, and I will try to post every Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, depending on how much time I can make with my father home. Well, keep reading. I don't think the next chappie will be too long, because, again, its more of a filler chapter. 

Well, I think I might have added a little fluffiness during the cooking. I couldn't help it. And now you know why Ino moved! Actually, while I was typing the chapter, it just popped into my mind. I haven't been planning it.

I know that my story's a bit boring right now, but later on, when the times right, like during the fall and winter, I think it'll be more interesting. Note that right now, it's spring, around the time that I'm typing this, April. Since I have lost some of the info on Japanese schools, the story's school may be a little different.

And I'm sorry, but my next update may be a few weeks later. I'll try, but it's going to be kinda hard to update. I'll try to update every week, but I have to make sure I finish all my work and get it out of the way so my dad will let me type. Ja ne! Hope to see you soon!

Kikoru x3


	5. Chapter V: Sakura's Birthday

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter V: Park?! Cherry Blossoms?! Sakura and Sasuke's Stories for the Festival!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

A/N: Just want to say and remind everyone that this chapter is for filler purposes. It may or may not affect the story later on. It basically digs into Sakura and Sasuke's pasts and lives. So some stuff here may need to be remembered. And I decided to make this during the end of March instead of the end of April for now. Also, the school year in here starts a little earlier than in regular Japanese schools. That's all! On with the story!

* * *

It was a Saturday morning, and Sakura stretched and yawned. She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes before doing her daily routine. After showering, she realized she had somewhere to go, and quickly changed into a light pink, sleeveless turtle-neck and some black jeans. She walked to the park, and on the way, passed by Ino's house. She wore thin, light sweater that only buttoned below the chest over a light purple t-shirt and jeans. The two friends walked side by side. 

"Forehead, you're wearing such nice clothing! Oh right, before I forget." Ino dug into her purse. "Damn it! Where is it…oh! There it is!" Ino pulled out a small, pink box with a lavender ribbon around it and presented it to Sakura. "Happy birthday, forehead girl!" Sakura smiled and opened the box to find a pink watch. "Thanks, Ino-pig!" She stuck her tongue out at Ino. Ino did the same action in return. They kept walking to the park.

"Whew! We finally reached the center!" Sakura said. The park was gigantic. Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Naruto, Tenten, and Neji were going to look at the cherry blossoms, in honor of Sakura's birthday. They would have a picnic for lunch. Hinata and Tenten were making the food, with Neji helping them carry it over. Those three already arrived. Tenten was trying to spread the blankets out with Hinata's help while Neji just watched them and helped if they asked for help. Shikamaru turned out to be on the other side of the tree, dozing off like usual. Naruto was seen in the distance, running around. The only one missing was Sasuke.

"Hey, guys! Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, waving to everyone in the process. Naruto came running back.

"Oh, teme…usually he's on time…where is he now! And it's Sakura-chan's birthday today!" Naruto said, scratching his head. Neji opened his eyes.

"He had a horrible turn of fate…let's just say…"

"Neji, how'd you know? We didn't see him on the way here…"Tenten remarked. Neji smirked.

"I'm the fate guy, remember?" Tenten face had a surprised look for the slightest moment before she stuck her tongue out at Neji. Neji just mock glared at Tenten before she burst into giggles.

"I'll go look for Sasuke-kun. Naruto, which side of the park should he live in again?" Sakura volunteered.

"That side," Naruto instructed, pointing. "There, on the left." Sakura nodded.

"Okay! See you soon! I'll try to find him!" Sakura ran off into said direction.

"For once in your life, Naruto, you got the troublesome directions right. Congratulations…"Shikamaru mumbled. Naruto pumped his fist in the air! "Yatta! Beat that, teme!" Everyone sweat dropped.** "I thought that was sarcasm…"** Hinata thought. **"Sigh…sometimes he's so dense…and Sasuke-san isn't even here..."

* * *

**

"Pant…Where…pant…could Sasuke-kun…pant…be?" Sakura rasped. She already ran around the area. She was about to give up and go back when she saw familiar raven, chicken head in a crowd. She ran up to the crowd, finding that everyone in the crowd besides Sasuke himself were fangirls. She sweat dropped. **"Hm…I've got to help him get out…Okay!" **

"HEY, EVERYONE, IN THAT CROWD IS MR. SOFTIE, THE ICE CREAM GUY! HELP SAVE HIM AND YOU'LL GET FREE ICE CREAM!" Sakura yelled. Some smaller children turned their heads and begged their parents or older siblings to help. At first they were a bit reluctant, and only the small children tried helping, but got a bit injured by the insane and Sasuke-addicted fangirls. **"This isn't working…okay, here I go again…I'm not sure if it'll kill him or help him this time, but I'll try."**

"HEY, EVERYONE! I LIED! THAT ISN'T MR. SOFTIE, THAT'S _THE_ UCHIHA SASUKE! HELP SAVE HIM AND YOU'LL GET HIS AUTOGRAPH!" Sakura yelled again. Everyone turned their heads.

"Oh! We need to help if it's _the_ Uchiha Sasuke! Autographs!"

"Kyaa! Sasuke-kun, I'll kill those fiends for your autograph!"

"Well, this guy's autograph is valuable…we could earn some money from it…" And so on and so forth. So everyone rushed to the screaming fangirls and beat them up or distracted them so Sasuke could escape. Sure enough, Sasuke ran out of the crowd, panting.

"What the hell was that for! The second thing you said might have gotten me in more trouble!" Sasuke said, glaring at the smiling Sakura.

"Well, it helped anyways. And I wasn't really going to give them an autograph. Watch. Take this hat and put it on," Sakura said, giving Sasuke a black hat to cover his hair and eyes. He adjusted it on his head.

"SORRY! I THOUGHT THAT WAS _THE_ UCHIHA SASUKE! IT TURNS OUT IT WAS JUST MY FRIEND! SORRY FOR THE INCONVINIENCE, BUT THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT FOR MY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone mumbled angrily and left the unconscious fangirls on the floor. Since all the fangirls that knew it was Sasuke were knocked out, everyone believed Sakura. Sakura grinned. "See!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and began to walk, with Sakura by his side. After they got away from the scene, Sasuke took his cap off and fixed his hair.

"An excellent way to fix chicken hair!" Sakura retorted.

"An excellent way to 'save the day'…" Sasuke mumbled back.

"C'mon! We have to get back to the others. I bet their wondering what took so long. And were the fangirls the ones holding you up?" Sakura said. Sasuke stopped for a moment and turned to look at her.

"What do you think?" Sasuke answered. Sakura giggled. "I knew that…" "Right…"

* * *

"Oh my god! Where is forehead girl and that Sasuke bastard! He better not have done anything with her!" Ino yelled. 

"Ino-pig, we're right here!" Sakura's voice called. Ino turned to the voice's direction and ran slow motion to Sakura. Sakura in turn ran to Ino in slow motion.

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Stop turning into another troublesome Gai and Lee…" The two stopped and everyone sweat dropped.

"Great way to ruin the moment, Shikamaru…" Sakura said. Shikamaru shrugged, until…

"Shika-kun!" Ino said in the sweetest voice she could. "How about you go to Sasuke's house to have an 'appointment' with his brother, Itachi-san?" Shikamaru paled. Sasuke smirked. Everyone knew that Uchiha Itachi had a special eye, though none of the girls ever met him. He possessed the Magekyou Sharingan, something that not many possessed, even in the Uchiha clan. The Magekyou Sharingan is a variation of the sharingan, something only the Uchiha clan possessed in the time of ninja. Apparently, the bloodline limit still ran in Uchiha blood. The Magekyou Sharingan can be used to put the victim in an alternate universe of pain, or just plain torture. The user can control the level of torture, and can trap the victim to what will seem as two-three days.

"N-no, it's o-okay I-ino…" Shikamaru stammered. His eyes were wide open. For some reason, Ino was able to scare him. Of course, nobody knew about their 'conversation' in gym class.

"Good!" Ino exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Now let's give forehead girl her birthday presents. I already gave mine to her. Now, who wants to give her their present?" Naruto raised his hand and jumped up and down in the air.

"Oh! Oh! Me, I wanna go first!!!" Naruto yelled.

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Naruto," Sakura said. Naruto grinned. He pulled out a box wrapped in light blue with a pink bow.

"Here, Sakura-chan! I hope it's an okay present!" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head and grinning sheepishly. Sakura took the present.

"Arigatou, Naruto!" She opened the box to find a stuffed fox with a bowl of ramen. "Oh! Kawaii! It's adorable! Thanks!" Sakura hugged Naruto before backing away. She examined the toy. "Hm…why a fox?"

"Oh, well, I thought it looked cute, and I wanted something that let you remember me, since I want to be Sakura-chan's friend!" Naruto replied.

"Naruto! You don't have to worry! I won't forget you!" Sakura said, laughing.

"Okay! Touching moment you have, forehead girl, but who's next?!" Ino exclaimed. Sakura glared.

"You act as if it's _your_ birthday, not mine."

"Oh, forehead girl, you would have been in a _much _worse state if it was _my_ birthday!"

"When is your birthday, Ino?" Tenten asked.

"September 23."

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled.

"Ah! Your birthday is the day right after lazy-ass's!" Naruto said. Ino looked shocked. "R-really?" Sasuke and Naruto nodded. "Uhuh!" Naruto said, crossing his arms and nodding knowingly.

"Then, Shika-kun, you can help me torture them on those days!" Ino said evilly.

"I have no intention of doing something so troublesome…" Out of nowhere, Ino appeared right in front of Shikamaru. She gave another one of her oh-so-sweet smiles.

"Shi-ka-kun! O-ne-gai!"

"No, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru replied, ignoring the warning tone in Ino's oh-so-sweet voice. And then he looked up, eyes widening. Ino's sweet smile changed into an evil grin.

"Oh, then how about I stab your eyes out so you can't see the clouds ever again!" Ino threatened. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"No! Not that! Okay, I'll do the troublesome torture!"

"A-ri-ga-tou!" Ino finally said, back to her sweet voice. Her tone changed soon after into her normal one. "Okay, who's next?"

"I-I'll go…" Hinata offered. As she walked forwards, her light purple skirt swayed. She stopped in front of Sakura and pulled out a small box wrapped in white with a lavender bow. "Here, Sakura-chan…"

"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Sakura took the box and once again unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful music box. "Hinata! It's so nice!"

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it," Hinata replied, sighing in relief, hand on chest.

"Okay, now my turn!!!" Tenten said enthusiastically. She ran to Sakura and took out a light green box with a pink bow. Sakura opened it, and inside was a stuffed panda with a green ribbon around its neck. Sakura hugged it.

"Omigod! Tenten, this is so cute! Thanks!" Sakura than hugged Tenten and they both laughed.

"Shika-kun, you go next!" Ino exclaimed

"Fine, fine, troublesome woman!" Shikamaru got up and gave Sakura a gift wrapped in cloud wrapping paper and a white bow. She opened it to find a book entitled 101 Strategies on How to Win Shougi. Shikamaru and Sakura played the game together sometimes, because Sakura still needed to learn a little bit, and Shikamaru was like a master at the game. He could even beat Sarutobi Asuma, one of the teachers at Konoha High.

"Thanks!" Sakura opened the book and flipped through the pages quickly before closing it again.

"Neji!" Ino yelled. Neji walked up to Sakura with a gift wrapped in white and a dark blue bow. Sakura opened the gift to find a medical book.

"Arigatou, Neji! How'd you know that I was into medics? You weren't in the classroom when I said that!"

"Naruto with his big mouth told me. How else?" Neji answered. Sakura giggled.

"I understand, thanks."

"Sasuke, you're the last one! Come on!" Ino said.

"Hn." Sasuke walked up to Sakura with a dark blue gift with a black bow. Sakura opened the gift to find a cherry blossom crystal necklace.

"Whoah! This must've cost a fortune!" Sakura exclaimed in awe. She put it on after admiring it for a little longer. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said before jumping on Sasuke and giving him a hug. Sasuke's eyes widened a bit before letting Sakura hug him a little longer.

"Aa. Um, Sakura, can you get off me now?" Sasuke asked.

"No!" Sasuke sighed, and then Sakura got off of him. "Okay, now I'll get off. I'm hungry, what about you guys?"

"Yep." Naruto said.

"Yep." Ino said.

"Yep." Tenten said.

"Yep." Hinata said.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU BROKE THE CHAIN AGAIN, SHIKAMARU!!!" Ino yelled. Everyone except Ino and Shikamaru were confused, because they couldn't read minds or enter somebody else's like Ino.

"S-sorry…" Shikamaru stammered.

"Uh…okay, let's eat, I'm hungry!" Sakura interrupted, before things got worse. They all ate lunch and cake before sitting down with their stomachs full.

"Ah, that was nice! Hinata, Tenten, you guys can really cook!" Sakura commented.

"Thanks," the two said.

"I'm gonna take a walk. Does anyone want to come with?" Sakura asked, getting up.

"I'll go. I'd rather walk than stay here doing nothing," Sasuke said, standing up as well. Sakura nodded, and the two left the rest of the group.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke walked around, looking at the trees. Sakura's hands were clasped behind her back, and Sasuke's were, as usually, in his pockets. 

"Hm…I used to go to a park like this with my parents all the time…" Sakura said all of a sudden. " And maybe Ino sometimes, too. She would show me all the flowers."

"Hn. I used to come with my brother or mother sometimes, too. But now they're too busy…Most of the time I would go with okaa-san, though. Itachi was such a liar, never really went with me, only a few times," Sasuke said, telling his own story.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Aniki! Aniki! Can we go to the park today?" a nine year old Sasuke said to Itachi. Itachi turned to face his brother. He bent down to Sasuke's height level._

"_Another day, little brother. I'm busy today," Itachi replied. Sasuke frowned. _

"_But that's what you always say!" he whined. Itachi chuckled at his little brother's usual reaction. He poked Sasuke hard on the forehead. Sasuke stumbled backward. "Ow! That hurt!" Sasuke rubbed his forehead._

_End flashback

* * *

_

Sakura giggled, and Sasuke glared at her. "What?"

"Nothing, but is that how it usually ended up as with Itachi-san?"

"Yes, didn't I just tell you that!" Sasuke said. Sakura laughed a little more before she stopped.

"Well, you said you'd come with your Itachi-san and your mother sometimes. What about your father?" Sakura asked. She noticed Sasuke stiffen a bit. "Oh, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" Sasuke lowered his head, bangs covering his eyes.

"Well, otou-san always looked more at Itachi, so he never paid much attention to me…"

"Oh…" Sakura said. The walk continued silently for a while, before Sakura said, "I wish I had a sibling. You're lucky to have Itachi-san…"

"Are you kidding me? He annoys the crap out of me!" Sasuke retorted. Sakura gave him a bitter smile.

"At least he talked to you…" Sasuke gave Sakura a questioning look.

"Well, my parents never really cared about me. They pretty much abandoned me and let me live alone when I was about twelve. Before that, they didn't even have time for me. Sure, they'd support me and all, but I don't think they cared that much…Kinda like your dad, except for me, it's both my parents…" Sasuke looked taken aback for a moment. **"Man, that's even worse than me…" **"So, I guess it's pretty nice to have Itachi-san as a brother, since he still pays attention to you, but now, I'm okay, since I have friends again…"

"Friends again?"

"Oh, in junior high, nobody wanted to be my friend. Ino left, and at the time, she was my only friend. Junior high was hell…"

"Oh…"

"We should get back to the others now. Look, the sun's already setting! Hurry up, Sasuke-kun, I wanna take a picture!" Sakura said before taking of and running. Sasuke followed behind.

* * *

"Okay, the timer's set up, come on, let's take a picture!" Sakura said. Everyone gathered together. 'Click' 'Flash' The picture was taken. 

"Oh! Let me see!" Ino said. She grabbed the camera out of Sakura's hands and looked. It was a pretty picture, with everyone smiling, or smirking, in their own way. The sun was setting behind, making the picture pretty colorful. Cherry blossom petals were scattered everywhere. Overall, the setting made the picture look beautiful, and even a bit dreamy and fantasy-like.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Ino exclaimed. She showed the picture to everyone.

"Whoa. It's…beautiful…" Hinata gasped, awestricken.

"You _have_ to send me a copy, Sakura!" Tenten said. Sakura smiled.

"I'll send you all a copy, okay?" Everyone nodded. "Let's go home! See you guys on Monday! And thanks for all the presents!" Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked in one direction, Tenten, Neji, Naruto, and Hinata in the other.

* * *

"Shika-kun, you live in this direction, too?" Ino asked innocently. 

"Unfortunately, yes, troublesome woman." The four continued to walk, Sakura and Sasuke in the front, Shikamaru and Ino in the back.

"Oh, this is where I turn! Bye!" Ino said, waving.

"Bye!" Sakura said. Sasuke nodded and Shikamaru followed her.

"Lazy-ass, what the hell are you doing?!" Ino yelled.

"Troublesome woman, stop being so troublesome. I'm just going to my troublesome home, where my troublesome mother is, and where my troublesome father is. So can I go now?" Shikamaru said.

"Oh, gomen. I didn't know you lived this way, too," Ino apologized.

"Yea, whatever…" The two turned the corner and left Sakura and Sasuke standing alone. The two walked in silence for a long while before the silence was broken.

"So, Sasuke-kun, do you live in a mansion?" Sakura asked. He shook his head.

"No, I live alone in a small house. You?"

"Oh, me too. I live in a small house, too. If we walk a little more, you'll see it. There," Sakura said, pointing at her house.

"Aa."

"Well, I'll be going now! Bye, Sasuke-kun! See you Monday!" Sakura called.

"Hn." And with the last uttered word, or sound, of 'hn' Sasuke turned around and went the way the two came.

"**Eh? Why did Sasuke-kun walk farther than he needed to?"**

'Because he _cares_.'

"**You haven't been here in a while. And what made you think he cares?"**

'Duh, he walked you home. And I was away for a bit.'

"**Well, okay you have a point."**

'I rest my case.'

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered before opening her door, going inside, and closing it once again. "It was a really nice birthday…" She touched the necklace she was wearing and closed her eyes, smiling.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** Itachi?! Mikoto?! Sakura, Meet More Uchihas! 

"Hello! I'm Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother! Nice to meet you -?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"Well, Sakura-chan, this is my eldest son, Uchiha Itachi." Mikoto said, moving her hand to Itachi. Sakura smiled.

"Nice poking." Itachi grinned.

"Pleasure to meet somebody who understands." Sakura grinned back.

"Pleasure to meet the man that can annoy the crap out of Sasuke-kun." Mikoto grinned this time.

"**Oh, this girl is interesting…" **Beside the three, Sasuke scowled.

"**Great, Itachi found an 'apprentice'."

* * *

**

A/N: Yay! I had time to get the chappie done on time! Turns out if I finish my homework and play piano, I'm pretty much free for about half an hour to an hour on weekdays! I'm so glad! Well, the chapter is a bit shorter this time anyways, but again, it's a filler chapter.

I'm so glad that I was actually be able to update. I even got the chapter done earlier than usual! I had to update a day early, because I might not have time tomorrow. And don't worry, this will not turn into ItaSaku, though I kinda like that pairing. I already said SasuSaku, and the relationship between Itachi and Sakura will be more like siblings or close friends. Just want to clarify in case you guys might think it would be because of the preview! Again, thank you for all the support! Arigatou gozaimasu! Ja ne! See you hopefully next week! Review, please! puppy dog eyes TT.TT

Kikoru x3


	6. Chapter VI: Uchiha Mikoto and Itachi

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter VI: Itachi?! Mikoto?! Sakura, Meet More Uchihas!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

A/N: I still remember this is a high school fanfic, but right now, I'm going to focus on the weekends. But I don't think that the story will get as interesting until I get up to Christmas and the winter time, _in the story __**not **__in real life. _This is a week after the last chapter I wrote, and I think the next chappie will return to the school! Okay, that's all! On with the story!

* * *

Sakura sighed. "Why did the groceries have to run out today!?" She walked down the street and entered her small, empty house. She quickly unpacked the groceries before going outside again. She walked a little bit before she saw none other than Uchiha Sasuke exiting his own house. 

"Hi, Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?" Sakura said. Sasuke turned around quickly. He saw who it was before closing his eyes and sighing.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? I live on this street."

"Right…I knew that. Sorry, I meant where are you going?" Sakura replied. Sasuke eyes widened into what seemed like fear for the slightest moment before he regained his composure and became his usual self.

"None of your business. And who said I was going somewhere?" Sasuke snapped icily.

"Well, I saw you come _out_ of your house, so what else would you be doing?" Sakura questioned, eyebrows raised, trying to ignore the Uchiha's angry tone. Sasuke gritted his teeth. This girl was impossible to lose. He clenched his fists before sighing.

"Okay, fine. Since you won't leave me alone otherwise, I'm going to see Itachi and okaa-san. My mother just came back, and she's going to stay for a little while. She wanted to see me and Itachi. You want to come?" Sasuke finally said. Sakura brightened.

"Sure! Lead the way!" Sakura said, mock saluting. Sasuke glared at her a bit before walking towards the mansion he used to reside in for most of his childhood with Sakura following closely behind.

* * *

The two reached the mansion. Sakura gaped at the enormity of it.

"Sugoi! Your mansion's gigantic!" Sakura said obviously awed. Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

"Aren't you rich, too?" Sakura turned to him and crossed her arms.

"Yes, but we never had a mansion _this _big. We're not as rich as you Uchihas! Not every company in the world is as rich as you guys!" Sakura retorted. Sasuke smirked.

"'Course you aren't…"

"No need to get all, 'I'm an Uchiha and I'm _way_ richer than a Haruno.'!" Sasuke's smirk widened.

"Uhuh, so let's ring the bell." Sasuke pressed the button and in a second, somebody opened the door.

"Sasuke-san, you're here! Mikoto-sama has been expecting you. Itachi-san has already arrived as well. And who is this little miss here?"

"A friend of mine," Sasuke replied monotonously.

"May I ask your name?" the butler said.

"Haruno Sakura, pleased to meet you," Sakura replied politely, bowing.

"Ah…heir to Haruno Inc. Sasuke-san, Haruno-san, follow me." The three walked to the room where Mikoto and Itachi were supposedly staying in for the time being.

"Wow, the mansion seems even bigger inside…" Sakura remarked, still admiring the gigantic Uchiha mansion.

"Hn. Seriously, Sakura, sometimes I don't think that you _are_ a Haruno," Sasuke said, smirking slightly.

"Hey! Sasuke-kun, what's your problem?!"

"You." Unfortunately for Sasuke, they just arrived at the room.

"Sasuke, that's not a way to speak to someone!" a woman scolded, dark eyes flashing with anger. Sasuke looked the woman and his eyes widened a bit.

"Sorry, okaa-san." In the background, a man in his twenties chuckled. He looked much like Sasuke, except his hair was long and tied back in a ponytail and he had a scar below each eye.

"Sasuke, you've already made such a commotion." Sasuke snapped his head to the man and glared, eyes narrowing.

"Itachi…"

"I'm so glad that my otouto remembered my name!" Itachi exclaimed. Suddenly, he appeared in front of Sasuke and embraced his little brother, fake anime tears running down his face. Sasuke scowled and tried to pry Itachi off of him. "Sasuke, my dear foolish brother, I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Sakura giggled at this.

"**Itachi-san looks the same, but he isn't like Sasuke at all!"** Sakura thought. Finally, Itachi let go of Sasuke and returned to his normal self.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sasuke, you should keep yourself cleaner. You _already_ got my clothes dirty!" Itachi exclaimed, dusting himself off. Sasuke shot Itachi another glare, which the older brother returned with a smirk. The woman scurried to the two and stopped Sasuke from killing Itachi any longer. She laughed nervously at Sakura. The two brothers stopped. The woman turned to Sakura.

"Hello! I'm Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother! Nice to meet you-?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"Well, Sakura-chan, this is my eldest son, Uchiha Itachi," Mikoto said, motioning her hand to Itachi. Sakura smiled.

"Nice poking," she remarked. Itachi grinned.

"Pleasure to meet somebody who understands." Sakura grinned back.

"Pleasure to meet the man that can annoy the crap out of Sasuke-kun." Mikoto grinned.

"**Oh, this girl is interesting…"** Beside the three, Sasuke's scowl deepened.

"**Great, Itachi found an 'apprentice'." **

"So, Itachi-san-"

"Just Itachi if you may Sakura."

"Sure. So, was Sasuke naïve when he was little?"

"Very," Itachi replied, smirking. He reminisced about the times he tricked him for a while before nodding. Sasuke scowled more. Mikoto sweat dropped. **"It seems those two get along well enough…"**

"No wonder he got poked so much…" Sakura remarked, nodding knowingly. Itachi followed suit.

"Can you two shut up about this?!" Sasuke yelled, slightly flushed out of embarrassment and anger.

"Of course, _Sasu-chan_!" Itachi said, trying to get on Sasuke's nerves.

"Sasu-chan, eh?" Sakura said evilly. "Nice nickname." Sasuke was about to yell at them loudly before Itachi interrupted.

"Hey, Sasuke, we're just teasing." Sasuke glared at Itachi, but Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun…" Sasuke didn't seem to care and kept glaring at Itachi. Sakura walked over to Sasuke and bonked his head. "I SAID SORRY, AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS IGNORE?!!! ARGH! UCHIHA SASUKE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura's yell echoed throughout the mansion, and in every room, the maids and servants turned their heads before going back to work. Sasuke turned to Sakura, eyes widened. Itachi had a surprised look on his face.

"**Whoa, this girl has a temper…"**

"Well," Mikoto said, clapping her hands, trying to lighten the mood, "Sakura-chan, why don't we have some sweets and tea." Sakura changed her gaze from Sasuke to Mikoto.

"Sure, Mikoto-san," Sakura said happily. Itachi sweat dropped.

"**Not to mention short term memory."**

"Oh, could you get us some sweets and tea? Arigatou," Mikoto said to the butler. "Now, why don't you all take a seat?" The four sat on the couch nearby. In a few minutes, some cake and pastries with tea were brought out.

"So, Sakura-chan, has Sasuke been nice to you?" Mikoto asked sweetly. Sasuke stiffened. If Sakura didn't say he was nice, if was the end of his world. Itachi grinned as he sipped his tea. He knew what was going on.

"Um…yea. I guess he _can _be a bit arrogant and cold sometimes, but he's not mean." Sasuke sighed in relief, before taking another sip of tea. "And, may I ask you a question, Mikoto-san?" Mikoto put her tea down.

"Fire away."

"Um, why did you name Itachi that. Aren't weasels bad luck?" Mikoto grinned. Itachi sat straighter. He himself didn't even understand this.

"Well…" Mikoto started. She paused to give a more dramatic effect. Sasuke put his cup down and leaned in. Mikoto grinned. "I used…" Everyone became tense. "REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY!" Everyone sweat dropped.

"Mikoto-san, could you elaborate…?" Sakura asked, completely confused like the Uchiha brothers.

"Okay, well, I decided to name Itachi after a weasel because weasels are bad luck. So I decided to use reverse psychology, hoping that he would turn out to be somebody lucky and smart and good and so on. And it worked!" Mikoto exclaimed. Everyone sweat dropped, even Itachi himself.

"Okay, but why didn't you do that for Sasuke-kun? You named him after a legendary ninja," Sakura asked again.

"Well, I didn't think it would work on him. I had a gut feeling. And, my plan worked again! Well, I guess Itachi's didn't completely work out because well…" Mikoto said excitedly before muttering the last part. Sakura nodded while the Uchiha brothers sweat dropped more at their mother's antics and reasons.

"Um…okaa-san, why don't we talk about something else?" Itachi suggested. Mikoto turned to give her sons a glare that Sakura couldn't see. Apparently, Uchiha Mikoto was the inventor of all the Uchiha glares. The two sons shrank into the sofa, scared of their mother. Even though Mikoto glared, Sakura changed the subject.

"Mikoto-san, may I ask what you meant by Itachi's name didn't work as well?"

"Oh, he gave up being the heir of Uchiha Inc.! Uchiha Fugaku, my husband, was infuriated! Now, Sasuke is the heir, though it's a bit strange…"Mikoto explained, seeming a bit angry. Sakura made a noise like 'oh' and became quiet.

"So, Sakura-chan, where are your parents?" Mikoto asked kindly, fuming aura gone after a few minutes.

"Well, I live by myself. My parents are to busy with the company and all…" Sakura said bitterly, but she smiled. "I really don't mind though. I have a lot of friends and company." The three analyzed her smile. They could tell she was sad; her eyes were the dead give away.

"Um…well, Sakura, why don't you take a look around the house? Go, Sasuke, show her around," Itachi said, giving Sasuke a serious look so he would understand that he wasn't joking. Sasuke didn't protest, seeing Itachi's look, and obliged to his older brother's request.

"C'mon, forehead, let's go." Sakura snapped her head towards Sasuke and gave off a murderous aura.

"**Wow, she so many has mood swings…" **Itachi and Mikoto thought simultaneously.

"U-CHI-HA SA-SU-KEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke was shocked for a moment. Wasn't this girl sad just a moment ago? He put his hands up defensively. Sasuke searched his mind for something that could calm the blood-thirsty Sakura. Before Itachi "helped" him, that is.

"Sakura, Sasuke didn't mean to call you that. You see, I'll poke him now. For your revenge." Sakura smirked evilly. Itachi walked up the Sasuke and started poking him in the forehead. Itachi began to smirk as well. Sasuke scowled deeply, very irritated with what his oh-so-kind older brother just did.

"_This_, is your idea of cheering her up?" Sasuke hissed furiously. Itachi smirk widened.

"I suppose it is, but what are you going to do about it, otouto? What _can_ you do about it? Or would have preferred to be chased around by her and threatened and then having her carry out her threats?" With that, Itachi gave Sasuke one last poke, before turning to Sakura. "Okay, I'm done. Otouto, show her around now." Sasuke grunted angrily, but he grabbed Sakura's wrist before exiting the room. Inside, Uchiha Mikoto was laughing hysterically.

"When they get back, our plan will be executed, Itachi." Itachi chuckled deeply in response, for he was probably one that couldn't exactly laugh hysterically.

"**Sometimes, okaa-san can be so nosy and begins to interfere into other's businesses. I guess I have no choice **_**but**_** to help her. Anyway, this will annoy otouto a **_**little**_** anyway. Maybe even a lot if we're lucky…"

* * *

**

_An hour later_

"Wow, that's everything, huh?" Sakura said, mesmerized once again by the enormity of the mansion. She had been to majority of the rooms now, and the two were back in the room where Itachi and Mikoto were. The eldest son and his mother were chatting excitedly about something, at least Mikoto was. Itachi just seemed to be interested. Though Sakura didn't notice, the evil grins, smirks, and laughs that kept appearing from time to time were bothering Sasuke. The thing was, he couldn't even make out the words.

"**How the hell do those two speak so quietly and still hear each other?!" **Just then, Itachi acknowledged Sasuke and Sakura's presence. Mikoto turned to them and smiled innocently.

"Sasuke, Sakura, how about you guys dance a bit?"

"But-" Sasuke never finished, because he caught his mother's stern look.

"Anyway, Itachi wants to work a little on his piano. He hasn't played in years, but I'm sure he'll remember some of it!" Mikoto exclaimed. Itachi nodded in agreement. Sasuke frowned.

"**It's another one of mother's weird 'plans'."**

"Yay! So follow me." Not wanting to be rude, Sakura followed Mikoto. The four went to the ballroom. It was a large room with a big chandelier on the ceiling. In one corner of the room, there was a grand piano with its chair. Itachi and Mikoto walked over to it, leaving Sakura and Sasuke in the center. "We'll give you a bit of time before Itachi starts to play," Mikoto said, hoping to reassure the obviously nervous Sakura.

"Uh, arigatou," Sakura replied uneasily. She motioned Sasuke to bend down a bit so she could whisper something in his ear. He leaned downwards a little.

"What?" Sasuke snapped in a low voice. Sakura looked at him with wide eyes before gulping.

"I can't really ballroom dance…I have two left feet! I learned before but I'm really clumsy. That's why I can't ever go to any of the meetings or dinner parties my parents want me to go to. I fall over my own feet!" Sakura whispered quickly, face a deep shade of red. Sasuke stared at her before breaking out into a low chuckle. Sakura glared. "What?" she said, quoting from Sasuke before. Sasuke stopped.

"I can teach you." Sakura's eyes widened. She pointed at him.

"You can?" Sasuke nodded.

"I had to learn, my mother has her ways of forcing me and Itachi…Here, come." Sasuke said softly. "Itachi, I guess we're ready…" Sasuke said to his brother. Itachi nodded and sat straighter and began to play the introduction of a song on the piano. The two dancers got into position. "Sakura." Sasuke whispered. She nodded, still looking at her feet, as if asking them if she could trust them. "Just follow me, okay? I'll count softly for guidance." Sakura nodded and the two began to dance. "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…yeah, see Sakura, you're doing fine." With that, Sasuke continued to count in whispers, occasionally commenting on Sakura to reassure her. About half way through, Sakura already knew how to dance, and she didn't have to look at her feet anymore.

* * *

"Okaa-san, they seem to dance fairly well. If my hearing was right, I heard Sakura say she couldn't dance well," Itachi whispered to his nearby mother while he was playing.

"_Fairly _well? Itachi, they're wonderful!" Mikoto exclaimed softly, hearts in her eyes. Itachi nodded, just agreeing with his excited mother. Soon, the piece was coming to an end, and Sakura and Sasuke broke apart when Itachi finished. Mikoto applauded loudly. Sakura blushed faintly when Sasuke leaned down to her and whispered something, but she punched him in the arm soon after, yelling something along the lines of, "I hate you!" before Sasuke replied teasingly with, "I love you, too." This earned another punch, with a glare on the side, from Sakura.

* * *

The four were back in the room where they had tea and pastries in.

"Otouto, how's school been going?" Itachi asked his brother, trying to start a conversation.

"Good."

"_How _good, exactly?" Itachi somehow was able to extend a conversation from such a blunt answer.

"_Okay_ good."

"_How_ is it okay good?" Itachi asked, grinning, his grin challenging Sasuke to a battle until he finally cracked. He was getting on his foolish little brother's nerves, and he knew it, too. Beside them, Sakura and Mikoto watched the "Brotherly Battle" that was unfolding among the Uchiha siblings. Sasuke glared.

"Same old, projects, homework, school work, _fangirls_." The last word was the one Sasuke hissed on. Itachi smirked.

"Yes, how is the fan club going anyway?" Itachi asked good-heartedly, sipping some of his tea. Sakura giggled beside them, which gave Sasuke an idea.

"Why don't you ask Sakura?" Sasuke said calmly. Itachi's face had a look of surprise before smirking.

"You've gotten better, otouto." Sasuke grinned.

"Hn." But Sakura was angry now.

"How. Dare. You. Call. Me. A. Fangirl!" Sasuke visibly twitched.

"**How come she takes things the wrong way all the time?!" **Inner Sasuke shrugged.

'That's how she is.' Sasuke inwardly sighed.

"Well, I didn't mean to call you a fangirl. It's just that, you have a gigantic fan club, too, so I thought _you_ might know," Sasuke explained as calmly as he could. Sakura's glare turned into a smile.

"Oh." Sasuke sighed in relief.

"Sasu-chan, I think you should be going now. I'll talk with Itachi for a bit," Mikoto announced. Sasuke nodded and turned to the door, with Sakura behind him. "Walk Sakura home will you?" Sasuke sighed.

"Fine."

"N-no, Mikoto-san, he doesn't need to walk me home! I'm fine walking alone, really!" Sakura said quickly, shaking her hands. Mikoto smiled.

"No, really, it's alright. Sasuke can walk you home. Anyway, you don't live far from him," Mikoto replied.

"C'mon, let's go," Sasuke said, taking Sakura with him. If he didn't listen to his mother, who knows what would have happened to him if he didn't obey his mother.

"A-ah! Ja ne, Mikoto-san, Itachi! Sasuke-kun, let me go!" Sasuke and Sakura exited the room, and soon, Sasuke let go of Sakura. When they were far enough, Mikoto laughed evilly. Itachi sweat dropped.

"**O…kay…"

* * *

**

Sakura and Sasuke were making their way to their houses.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, your family is…interesting," Sakura commented. Sasuke nodded in agreement. Sakura sighed. "I wish my parents were like Mikoto-san."

"Aa…actually, you don't really want your parents to be like okaa-san…" Sasuke said.

"Why not?" Sasuke gulped.

"Certain things that the whole Uchiha clan has sworn not to tell about my mother…"

"Oh. How about your father?" Sasuke's eyes darkened.

"He just does what he thinks is best for the company. I think that's all he cares about. He doesn't even really value the decisions me and Itachi make, it's just all about the company. My mother at least listens to our reasoning if she doesn't agree. Even when we're speaking against our father, my mother won't interrupt and become stubborn. She knows that she has to listen to what we're going to say before she sides with somebody…" Sakura gasped. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"That's the most I've ever heard you speak at once…" Sasuke sweat dropped.

"**And I thought she was going to say something important…"**

"Well…isn't this your house?" Sakura said, pointing to a house that was indeed Sasuke's.

"Yea, but my mom said I have to walk you home…"

"No, it's okay! I'll be fine from here," Sakura insisted.

"Hn…I still have to go with you…" Sakura huffed before sighing in defeat.

"Fine, whatever…" The two continued to walk in silence.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?"

"…?"

"Do you think Konoha High has weird teachers?" Sasuke looked at her, as if questioning if she was serious.

"Okay, I thought so. I hoped that I wasn't the only one that thought the teachers were strange. Especially Kakashi-sensei. I've never seen a teacher be so laid back as to read a rated R novel _during_ his class…"

"Kakashi's weird. I've known him for a while…" Sasuke said, looking up at the sky, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Oh, yea! I've been meaning to ask you, how do you know Kakashi-sensei from before? On the first day it seemed you already knew each other…" Sakura thought aloud, finger on her chin, eyes gazing upwards.

"Well, Kakashi knew somebody in my clan. They were like best friends, so Kakashi was and still is really close to my family. The reason he has one eye covered is because he became blind in one eye. Around the time, his friend died of some disease, but he wanted to donate one eye to Kakashi. That eye just happened to be activated into our bloodline limit, sharingan, at the time, so actually, Kakashi has one sharingan eye. It's just using the sharingan uses a lot of energy, so a non-Uchiha will use even more energy using the sharingan, especially since he can't deactivate it."

"Oh…so that's why. Oh! Here's my house! Arigatou! See you at school!" Sakura exclaimed, before running to her house and entering. She closed the door softly, and sank to the ground.

"Gah...I'm exhausted, especially because of dancing…" Just then Sakura remembered something that made her blush a bit.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Sasuke leaned down to her and whispered something._

"_You're really not __**that**__ bad, you just have to stop staring at something random to avoid your partner's gaze. You know it's a bit impolite…" Sasuke smirked. _

"_I hate you!"_

"_I love you, too."_

_End Flashback

* * *

_

**Next Chapter Preview: **Swimming?! Lessons?! Help, Sasuke-kun!

"Um…well…" Sakura stuttered.

"You can't swim?" Sasuke finished for her, arching an eyebrow. Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"Uh…yea…"

"I _guess_ I could teach you, since I got a clumsy person like you to dance…"

"Hey!"

* * *

A/N: I stayed up late to finish this chappie on time! You should all be proud of me! LOLs, just kidding! Well, I hoped you liked it. It was quite fun to write, except for some serious parts. Well, I'll try to update soon! 

And could you guys do me a favor? Check out my songfic _Shooting Star_, it's kinda cheesy and it's SasuSaku...Thanks!

Kikoru x3


	7. Chapter VII: Swimming Lessons and More!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter VII: Swimming?! Lessons?! Help, Sasuke-kun!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto.

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**

A/N: I got extremely lazy and started this chapter late, though I managed to publish a SasuSaku angst one-shot. It was completely random. And now, we're back to school (in the fanfic that is). Just to tell you guys, the sports festival is coming up! For the fanfic! Yay! On with the fanfic! Lols, that sounded kinda weird! I used fanfic a lot...You'll see inner Sakura here, I realized she hasn't has that much of a role for a while.

* * *

Sakura walked up to the school and sighed. The school was so big. Why couldn't they just let the teachers move around instead of the students, like any _other _Japanese school? But Konoha High was _definitely _not just another school…they had very…special teachers, truthfully. The real reason why was because Kakashi just _somehow _coughsharingancough manipulated the founder of the school when Kakashi himself was still in high school. Quite funny actually. **"At least we don't have to carry an extreme amount of books…"**

'You're kidding! They give us mountain high stacks of books for us to carry!' Sakura scowled. Her inner exaggerated _way_ too much.

"**Actually, the most we have is probably for biology…and we just have a **_**thin **_**binder and a textbook!"**

'Oh yea?! What about the planner!?'

"**What the hell! That doesn't count! I suppose you want to include the pencil case, too?!"**

'Not a bad idea! See how much we have to carry now, idiot side of me?' Sakura's "sane" inner mind became flared.

"**WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?!!!"**

'Are you so deaf that you can't even hear your own thoughts? I said, "Not a bad idea! See how much we have to carry now, idiot side of me?" Did you hear me this time?' Inner Sakura smirked. She managed to get the so called sane part of Sakura to get pissed. Sakura was about to retort to her inner when somebody tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?!" she snapped, turning the owner of the tap. The person arched an eyebrow.

"I thought you were a morning person. And why are you pulling you're hair out. Nobody even talked to you yet."

"S-sasuke-kun! Sorry, I was…in a bad mood…"

"Uhuh, it's your inner?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded before pausing when Sasuke smirked and said, "I knew it." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Wha? How'd you know I had an inner?!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke. "Only Ino knows, and that's because her family has a technique of entering other's minds! Not to mention my inner can kick her out! She's got some mental scars now!" Sasuke continued to smirk before shrugging.

"Only somebody with an inner self could be as crazy as you." Sakura nodded in agreement. Sasuke looked at Sakura, confusion written all over his face, the smug look wiped off.

"I suppose you're crazy too than, Sasu-chyaaaaaaan!" Sakura said in a sing-song voice, saying "chan" like Naruto said it when he called her name. Sasuke visibly twitched; it was Sakura's turn to smirk now. "I know you have an inner, too."

"H-how?!"

"My inner told me. Yes, she's very smart…"

'Thanks for the compliment, oh-so-kind master,' inner Sakura sneered, though she was clearly enjoying the praise from Sakura. Just then, a more devilish Sasuke popped up into the point of Sakura's mind where she couldn't see him, but her inner could. 'And who might you be?' Inner Sakura asked, eyebrows raised. Inner Sasuke plopped himself in one of the inner couches and smirked.

'Guess.'

'Inner Sasuke, and might I say, you're even sexier than your outer,' Inner Sakura complimented. Inner Sasuke's smirk widened.

'I know. _You're _a lot sexier than your outer.' Inner Sakura smirked.

_Briiiiiiiiiiing _The bell interrupted Sasuke and Sakura and their inners' conversation. 'Better be going back to Sasu-chan! I can't leave him in daze for too long.' With that, inner Sasuke disappeared from Sakura's mind.

* * *

"Ahhhhhh! We're going to be late!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed. She ran, leaving Sasuke in his place. Being a fast runner, arrived on time, only to remember that her first period that day was history, taught by none other than the late teacher, Hatake Kakashi. Anyway, most of his lessons turned into free periods, especially Friday, where math was the last two periods.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, what's the hurry? Kakashi's not going to be here for at least another fifteen minutes," Naruto said. Ino nodded in agreement. The door slid open, and Sasuke came in walked leisurely. Fangirls squealed, with one particularly loud screech.

"Sasuke-kun, marry me!" Mitsuki cried. Sakura raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Mitsuki in her class.

"Wasn't she in a different class…1-1. Damn, she brought her little posse too…Wait, where are Hiroko, Akina, Kosuke, Hideki and Aoi? Weren't they in our class?" Ino shook her head. Shikamaru sighed.

"They were forced by Mitsuki to change classes with them…Damn that girl. She just happens to have connections or some shit like that. Acts like she's at the top of the world. Total bull," Ino said. Nearby, Sasuke finally brushed the fangirls off of him and joined the group.

"Why the hell is _she _here?!" Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth, pointing at the hazel eyed brunette.

"According to the others, she forced some of our past classmates to switch with her and her posse!" Sakura yelled angrily. "Stupid Mitsuki and her 'connections'," Sakura mumbled.

'Yea, what's her problem anyway, that Sasuke obsessed freak,' Inner Sakura commented. Sakura inwardly nodded. Kakashi slammed the door open twenty minutes late.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Over half the class screamed. Kakashi grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I got lost on the road of l-"

"Kakashi, just stop lying to us and get on with the lesson," Sasuke said in a monotone voice. Kakashi nodded, but decided to speak again.

"Well, a few of our students have switched with some others from class 1-1. Yoshida Mitsuki, Watanabe Ami, Yukino Tsuki, Sawagashi Hikari, and Fujiwara Kiki, please come to the front so I can give you your proper seats." Most of the class groaned and thought, **"Great! More fangirls! Damn that Uchiha!" **The five giddy and slutty girls jumped up to the front of the room, making their shortened skirts and coats fly up while passing by some perverted boys. Ino, who just happened to be near that row, winced.

"**Whores." **The five girls went up to the front, and Kakashi pointed to each seat. Mitsuki was last.

"You can sit near Kaede. Would you please raise your hand?" Kaede raised her hand with some hesitation, but Mitsuki whined.

"Why can't I be next to Sasuke-kun?!" she shrieked in her ear-shattering voice. Everyone winced, including Kakashi.

"That seat is already taken."

"What slut would take _that_ seat?!" Mitsuki screeched.

"I happen to be the one you're calling a 'slut', and I thought I already told you off, but apparently you want more. And if you're stupid enough to even want that seat and then call whoever sitting there a slut, you're calling yourself one if you get the seat. Not that I care, you're just saying the truth about yourself." Mitsuki turned to Sakura's direction.

"Haruno."

"Slut." Mitsuki screamed, pulling her hair out. Sakura smirked in satisfaction. Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke snickered.

"**Sucker,"** they all thought.

"Now, Mitsuki, if you would sit there, next to Kaede? And I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Sakura there," Kakashi said. Mitsuki's eyes widened in surprise before stomping over to her seat, infuriated with Sakura and Kakashi. "Thank you. Now, since there's not much time left before you all go to science, I suppose you can just have free time." Whispers and gossip broke out through the room, and Kakashi continued to read his oh-so-precious _Icha Icha Paradise_.

* * *

_With Mitsuki and the Sasuke Fanclub_

"I can't believe that Haruno slut!" Mitsuki hissed, throwing her hands in the air. The vice president, Watanabe Ami, nodded in agreement, bold purple hair bouncing. Ami took the longest purple strand and began to twirl it.

"Don't worry president, we'll get her back someday…" The other fangirls nodded, but Mitsuki, being the spoiled brat she was, wasn't satisfied.

"_Someday_?! And when will that be?!" Ami frantically tried to calm Mitsuki down, fanning her with a book.

"President, give us some time. Please, Sasuke-kun might be in danger if we act too rashly. They're friends, therefore they hang out with each other, not to mention the others around them. Neji-san is there too, and he's very protective of his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata." Mitsuki sighed in annoyance and defeat.

"Fine. You have more time."

* * *

_With Naruto and the Gang (excluding Tenten and Neji)_

"Mitsuki is _so_ easy to piss off," Sakura sighed happily, a small grin on her face. Ino nodded.

"Hmph, that girl _seriously_ needs some anger management. If she doesn't get something, she freaks like it's the end of the world!" Ino said.

"M-mitsuki is really a s-slut," Hinata half-whispered half-stammered. Sasuke's head snapped to the sluts for a moment before quickly turning back and growling.

"They called Sakura a slut," Sasuke said, eyes flickering red into sharingan. Naruto and Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"Yo, Sasuke-teme, no need to get so mad!" Naruto held Sasuke down so he wouldn't jump up. Sakura gasped.

"Sasuke-kun, g-gomen! I made you mad! Sorry!" Sakura said, covering her face. Sasuke's eyes became its usual onyx color. He began to mumble incoherent words, though Shikamaru caught the words, "Stupid fangirls."

"Okay, everyone, off to science," Kakashi announced. The students groaned at their interrupted conversations, but left the room anyway.

* * *

_Lunch _(I skipped a few periods)

The eight are sitting under the cherry blossom tree, whose blossoms have already died because of its short life span.

"…Ino-pig…" Sakura mumbled between chews. Ino swallowed.

"What?" Ino popped a piece of rice in her mouth and began to chew.

"What class do we have next?" Ino swallowed again.

"Gym, but it's swimming today…" Sakura gasped. "What's wrong now, forehead-girl?"

"I…Ino! You know what's wrong!"

"Oh, yea…sorry I forgot for a moment," Ino said, smirking. Tenten managed to hear the conversation, and after scoffing down a large portion of her food she turned to everyone.

"Hey! We have swimming to, right Neji?" Neji nodded, eating calmly.

"Tenten, you should really eat a bit slower…"

"Hey! I can eat however I want!"

"Sure, if you want to choke and die…"

"Neji!!!!!!!"

"Hn…It's not like I'm going to let that happen anyway." Tenten blushed and Neji smirked.

"Uhm…y-yea…anyway, I really like swimming! Yay!"

"I k-kinda like d-diving…" Hinata stammered. Neji nodded.

"Hinata-san does very well at diving."

"Arigatou, Neji-niisan…" Hinata said, looking down at her food.

"Wow, Hinata-chan! You can probably swim really well, too!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata blushed.

"I'm not b-bad…You can probably swim well too, Naruto-kun…"

"You bet!"

"That is, if you count doing a strange form of a doggy paddle swimming," Sasuke retorted. Naruto scowled.

"Hey, you know I'm not _that_ bad, Sasuke-teme!"

"Actually, Naruto, you're swimming _is_ that bad. No matter how troublesome it is, I think I can swim better than you, and I think swimming is too troublesome," Shikamaru said.

"Yea, well, can teme do any better?!" Sasuke smirked.

"Naruto, tsk, tsk, tsk…do you not remember?" Naruto looked thoughtful.

"Oh…right…fine, teme, you're actually good at swimming."

"Actually, Sasuke's swimming is above average skill level, and he doesn't even take those troublesome lessons." Sasuke smirked more. Naruto just turned away and pouted.

"Oh, we have to go now!" Tenten exclaimed. Everyone packed their lunch up, excluding the ones that didn't have lunch, and went inside. "Okay, guys, since you might not know where the girls' locker room is, follow me. And they sent you a bathing suit, right?" Ino, Sakura, and Hinata nodded. "Good. Here it is." The girls entered the locker room. It wasn't overly steamy and humid; the locker room's air was fresh. Some girls were changing and walking out to the pool.

"Hm…this locker room seems quite comfortable. I don't even feel like my clothes are sticking to me," Ino commented. Tenten smiled.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. When I first went swimming, I thought I'd have to change in a disgusting locker room." The four girls changed into the one-piece, dark blue bathing suits. Sakura was shaking with nervousness. She stuffed her school uniform into the locker and took her towel with her. Tenten led the way. After a few moments, the guys joined them. A teacher wearing a beige trench coat entered with a clipboard. She was a tough looking lady with purple hair. "That's Anko. She supervises swimming. She's one of the gym teachers along with Gai. You either get her or Gai."

"Hello, little people. I see some are new…well, you can do whatever you want in this period," Anko started. Sakura sighed in relief. But it was too early to relax, "but you _must_ swim. Do I make myself clear?" Sakura anxious again.

"Hai!" the students boomed. Anko flashed a crooked smile.

"Good. You kill people, got it? Okay, now hit the pool!" Tenten ran into the pool. Hinata followed closely and executed a graceful dive. Ino was about to go when Sakura tugged at her wrist.

"Forehead girl! I can't teach you how to swim; you know that I don't have the temper. Hinata won't be forceful enough. Tenten doesn't seem like she'd want to be stuck teaching when she could swim freely. Shikamaru will just think it's too damn troublesome and Naruto hardly knows! Neji can't teach for his life, if I heard correctly from Tenten. So it only leaves Sasuke! Go find him and ask!" Sakura nodded slowly. Ino felt a bit sorry for yelling at her so she hugged her best friend. "It's okay, Sakura. Go ask him, okay?" Sakura nodded again and walked toward Sasuke. She stopped in front of him.

"Uh…Sasuke-kun, could you do me a favor?"

"It depends…what is it?"

"Um…well…well…" Sakura stuttered, fiddling with her fingers.

"You can't swim?" Sasuke finished for her, arching an eyebrow. Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"Uh…yea…"

"I _guess_ I could teach you, since I got a clumsy person like you to dance…"

"Hey! Why are you so mean?!"

"You say that I'm mean when I'm going to teach you how to swim? I guess you don't want my help." Sasuke smirked. Sakura glared. Sasuke turned around.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun…please…" Sasuke turned back to Sakura. Her puppy dog eyes were on. Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Fine. Come with me." The walked to the edge of the pool Sasuke jumped in while Sakura put one delicate foot in before she withdrew.

"It's so cold." Sasuke sighed.

"**This is near hopeless…"**

"Come on…you can't learn if you won't even go inside water."

"Okay…" Sakura jumped in, shutting her eyes, bracing herself for the blast of cold water that was a come. She would've sunk if they weren't in the shallow area. Anyway, Sakura was a bit short, so she had to stand on her toes. "Argh! I hate being short!" Sasuke sweat dropped.

"Okay, I guess we have to start with breathing and timing…" Sakura nodded.

"Hai, Sasuke-sensei!" Sasuke glared.

"Don't call me sensei." Sakura smiled.

"Why not, Sasuke-sensei! You're teaching me aren't you?"

"Fine…Let's start now."

* * *

"Wow, Sakura actually got Sasuke to teach her?" Tenten said to Ino.

"Yes, and I'm not that surprised. It seems Sasuke has a soft spot for her. And he's overprotective of her, too. In the morning, when history was turned into free period," Ino started. Tenten rolled her eyes, saying something like, "Typical."

"When Kakashi turned it into free period, Sasuke overheard Mitsuki and her posse calling Sakura 'Haruno slut' and he blew his top," Ino said, using her arms to throw water in the air to add an effect.

"Wow, for real…quite overprotective…And he's less of an asshole when Sakura's around, isn't he? 'Cause when me and Neji first met them, Sasuke was all ice-cubeish. But when Sakura was around, he loosened up," Tenten recited. Ino nodded her head vigorously. "Hey, where's Hinata?" The two girls looked around and spotted Hinata trying to teach Naruto how to swim. Apparently, Naruto got the hang of it after Hinata taught him. He swam a lap and returned to Hinata, who seemed to have nodded in approval. Naruto then tackled Hinata with a bear hug, screaming, "Thank you, Hinata-chyaaaaaaaaaaan!" Hinata turned bright red in the face before suggesting to try another type of stroke.

"Wow. Hinata has so much patience. Now, let's see how forehead girl is doing," Ino said. They turned to where Sasuke and Sakura were. Sakura practiced kicking while holding a wall. Soon after, she started doing the arms.

"Uhm…Sakura, you can swim fine…" the two girls heard Sasuke say. Sakura just grinned in response.

"Wow, seriously…Sasuke-teme's a lot nicer than when he tried to teach _me_ how to swim," Naruto commented. Tenten and Ino jumped in surprise.

"N-naruto no baka! How did you get here?!" Ino yelled. Naruto gave her a questioning look.

"I swam?" Naruto stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hinata nodded.

"Man, Hinata taught you how to swim fast!" Tenten remarked. Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"Yea, Hinata-chan is a good teacher." Hinata flushed at this.

"A-actually, I'm not that good."

"Don't be so modest, Hinata. I've seen you swim before," Ino said.

"Thank you, Ino-chan," Hinata replied timidly.

"So, you guys were talking about how Sasuke-teme's teaching Sakura-chan, right?" Naruto said, changing the subject. Ino nodded. "I think Sasuke-teme might like Sakura-chan."

"……?!" Naruto nodded.

"Surprising isn't it? You can ask lazy-ass. I bet he'll say the same." Tenten turned to Shikamaru.

"So is it true?" she asked.

"What?...oh yea, about Sasuke being nicer to Sakura, yea, Naruto's right. Troublesome, now I can't sleep…" Shikamaru sighed in annoyance.

"I'm gonna go for a swim. Hm…maybe I'll get Neji or someone to race me…"and with that, Tenten was off.

* * *

"President! I've got some useful information on Haruno!" Watanabe Ami whispered, walking towards the Sasuke fanclub's president.

"Hm…what is it?" Mitsuki asked, raising an eyebrow. Her hazel eyes were half open. Ami took a deep breath.

"Haruno can't swim!" Mitsuki's eyes snapped open, an evil glint present in her eyes.

"Is that so…Ami come over here…" The rest was all whisperings.

* * *

"Thank you, Sasuke-sensei! I can finally swim a few laps!"

"Hn. And don't call me that."

"Is that all you want to say?!"

"Aa."

"Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura punched Sasuke. He winced.

"Ow! Fine…nice job…" Sakura grinned.

"Everyone," Anko called, "We're going to race! Get into groups of eight! Four on each side of the pool." The students assembled and, of course, Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, and Sakura were together. The girls were on one side, and the guys on the other. "Okay, so the first two will do breast stroke, next two will do backstroke, third pair will do butterfly, and the last will do freestyle."

* * *

"Sakura, you go last, since I think right now, you only know freestyle right?" Sakura nodded. "Hm…okay, Hinata, you go first, since your best stroke is breast stroke…Tenten, I'm not excellent at butterfly. Could you do it?" Tenten nodded enthusiastically.

"I love butterfly!"

"Wonderful. So I believe that we just swim to the side, and let one of the guys take over. When they get to our side, we switch off. Got it?" The other three nodded at Ino.

"I never knew you could be so smart and observant, Ino-pig." Ino grinned.

"You don't need a big forehead to be smart, you know!"

* * *

Shikamaru sighed. "You guys always come to me for the troublesome plans and formations. Okay…Naruto, it seems Hinata taught you breast stroke today, and you can actually swim now…and you're pretty fast, too. I'll do backstroke…anyway I want to enjoy the clouds for a bit…Sasuke, you do freestyle…you can catch up if one of the girls are falling behind…you can probably swim two times as fast when you do freestyle compared to other strokes and can finish the race quickly. Neji, do butterfly. I saw you swimming, and it seemed to be your best stroke. When you get to the other side, switch off with a girl, and when they get here, switch off again. Got it?" The guys nodded.

"Lazy-ass, how do you think of this?!"

"It's called 'troublesome observation'." Neji and Sasuke sweat dropped uncharacteristically.

"Okay! So is everyone ready to start?! Go!" Hinata started, diving in gracefully and swimming fast to the other side. She was the second out of all the groups to get there, and quickly tapped the wall. Naruto jumped in while Hinata quickly got out to the pool.

"**Good luck, Naruto-kun."**

Naruto swam quickly to the other side and managed to reach there fourth. He tapped the wall and Ino jumped in and pushed off the wall. She did a quick and effective backstroke before feeling the wall and getting out for Shikamaru to go. He started the same way as Ino, and though he was lazy, managed to get third. He tapped the wall and Tenten quickly jumped in, starting the butterfly instantaneously. She quickly reached the side second. Neji jumped in and did the butterfly quickly. Sakura mustered all her courage and jumped in. She swam as fast as she could, feeling the rush of cool water around her. While mid-way through, she felt somebody grab her leg. She sank downwards and looked at the hand. She trailed up the person's arm and saw Mitsuki smirking. Mitsuki pulled her down even more, while Sakura was struggling to get out of her grasp. Sakura's breath ran out and she sank down. Mitsuki smirked in satisfaction and went on with the race. What she didn't see was Sakura swimming back up, green eyes flashing with anger. Sakura reached the surface of the water and swam quickly past Mitsuki and a few others.

"What?!" Mitsuki cried. "I thought I dragged you down!"

"Well, you thought wrong, bitch!" Inner Sakura was taking over, unfortunately for Mitsuki. Sakura didn't ensue any violence, but she quickly swam to the other side and tapped the wall. She came in fourth because of Mitsuki's cheating, but Sasuke jumped in quickly, a look of worry and anger in his eyes. Sakura got out of the pool, gasping for air.

"Sakura!" Ino rushed over to her rose haired friend. Sakura began coughing furiously. She raised her head and looked at Sasuke, who was already in front of the other swimmers. He made a great comeback. Sakura smiled.

"**That's Sasuke-sensei for you," **Sakura thought, before she heard cheers coming from Tenten and fell unconscious in Ino's arms.

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino called again. She shook her best friend. Sasuke just got in first and won their race, but Sakura became unconscious. "Anko-sensei, Sakura…she's unconscious!"

"What?!" Anko ran over. "And Tsunade's going to blame it all on me! Do you know what happened to her?"

"I-"

"I know what happened." Anko looked up and saw a dripping wet Sasuke, red sharingan eyes flashing.

"Uchiha, what happened to her? And you didn't use the sharingan to cheat, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"Teme, what happened to Sakura-chan?"

"Yoshida Mitsuki, aka president of my fanclub, seemed to have dragged her down. I turned on sharingan-yes I know I'm not supposed to-and I read Mitsuki's lips after Sakura resurfaced. She said, 'I thought I dragged you down.'"

"So Mitsuki dragged Sakura down…that bitch!" Ino yelled.

"I forgot to mention Sakura called her that also."

"This is bad…I think we need to get Sakura to Tsunade-sama. Sakura's lungs got filled with a lot of water. But I can't leave you all here. Someone take her there."

"I'll take her, just let me put my clothes on," Sasuke said.

"Hurry it up then, Uchiha." Sasuke disappeared in a second and came back with his normal eye color. He carried Sakura to the principal's office. '_Knock' 'Knock'_

"Who is it?" a slurred voice said.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He heard cups being put down.

"Come in, then, Uchiha." He walked inside. Tsunade looked at the girl he was carrying.

"Haruno Sakura. What happened to her?"

"During swimming, Yoshida Mitsuki dragged her underwater for a period of time. Anko said her lungs were filled with some water, and that we couldn't just send her to Shizune."

"I see. Well, leave her here. I'll deal with her." Tsunade swished her hand and Sasuke walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked quickly down the semi-empty halls and back to the entrance of the locker room.

* * *

"Hey, teme," Naruto's voice called, a tint of melancholy in it. "What did Tsunade-obaa-chan say?"

"She said she'd take care of Sakura." Naruto examined his best friend and rival.

"Sasuke you care about her, don't you?" Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"I suppose so…" Naruto nodded. Sasuke looked at the ceiling.

"**I just hope you'll be okay, Sakura…"

* * *

**

**Next Chapter Preview: **Still After Her?!Sakura! Sasuke-kun! More Fangirl Revenge

"Haruno, you look so pathetic," Mitsuki snarled. Sakura spat out some blood.

"And you don't happen to _be_ pathetic?" Mitsuki flared. She turned to her four companions.

"Girls, execute the final part of the plan."

* * *

A/N: A longer chapter! In case you might get confused, Sasuke was the one who was thinking the last line, not Naruto. Yays! Huggles! Sorry, I couldn't update yesterday. I've been having a fever for the past few days, and I'm extremely sick. The tissues are piling up! Well, I worked on the chapter for part of the day, and I apologize for being a day late! Also, I'm sorry the preview's a little short. Gomen, minna-san! But you have to admit, the chapter's a bit longer, and less straight forward. Thank you all for reviewing! Also check out my angst one-shot! Ja ne!

Kikoru x3


	8. Chapter VIII: More Fangirl Revenge

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter VIII: After Her?!Sakura! Sasuke-kun! More Fangirl Revenge

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: I reread my last chapter, and I had so many grammar mistakes! And some words I forgot to put in. When Anko said, "You kill people." I meant, "You can't kill people." Sorry for that mistake; it made one part extremely misleading! Originally, I was going to make chapter eight more humor-ish, but I decided against it in the end. Well, I hope you enjoy! On with the fanfic. **_CAUTION FOR MANGA CHAPTERS 340+ and MORE SPOILERS. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR THE PLOT OF THE FANFIC, SO YOU CAN SKIP THAT PART! _****_

* * *

_**"Sakura!" Ino cried as the others rushed into the clinic, where Sakura was moved to. Tsunade sat on a chair nearby Sakura's bed, looking at the girl that nearly drowned, who was now dressed in the school uniform again. The skilled medic averted her gaze to the others.

"Sh! Don't wake her up! She pushed past her limit…but she's fine. She just needs some rest…" Tsunade scolded softly. "But really…I've never seen somebody who'd try _this_ hard…Her lungs were almost completely filled…She nearly got pneumonia, but right now, she's just got a high fever. She may tend to cough a lot, too, but otherwise, you don't need to worry." Ino sighed in relief.

"**Sakura, if you weren't okay, I'd kill myself! Not to mention that Sasuke-obsessed slut…or maybe I'll kill her anyway…"**

"So, Sakura-chan doesn't have pneumonia, right?" Naruto asked. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Sorry, Tsunade-obaa-chan…I just wanted to make sure…" Tsunade's brown eyes softened.

"It's okay brat, I'm just a bit stressed. I'm surprised you can be so timid and quiet."

"Hey! I'm not a brat!" Naruto hissed, not wanted to yell and wake Sakura up.

"T-tsunade-sama, when will S-sakura-chan wake u-up?" Hinata inquired.

"Hm...in a little while. Definitely by the time school ends, but I need somebody to walk her home…"

"I'll walk her home," Ino suggested. "I live near her, the only one who lives closer is Sasuke…" Tsunade looked thoughtful.

"But, Ino, can you support her for that long. If I remember correctly, you still have about fifteen blocks before you reach Sakura's home compared to your home…I _could_ get Uchiha to do it instead. He lives around two blocks away…"

"No, please…Sakura's been my friend for a long time, and I seriously care about her…" Tsunade sighed.

"But this is for her own well being…I'm not sure if you could carry her if she collapsed…" Ino sighed in defeat. It was true; Ino didn't have enough strength to carry Sakura if she happened to collapse. "Well, then, Uchiha, she's your responsibility until she gets home. And you might want to stick around for a little while…just to make sure she's okay…Got it?" Sasuke nodded.

"Tsunade-sama, can we visit her?" Tenten asked. Tsunade shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but she needs rest. It's best if just one person takes care of her instead of many making a lot of ruckus…" Just then, Sakura shifted a bit on the bed. Her green eyes slowly flickered open and adjusted to the fluorescent light from the ceiling. She put a hand on her head and sat up.

"W-where am I?" Sakura asked, looking around the room. "Guys, why am I in a bed, and why are you all so worried loo-" Ino tackled Sakura in a hug, while Sakura coughed.

"Forehead-girl, I was so worried about you. After that bitch pulled you down, we had to send you to Tsunade-sama, and you've been unconscious for a while!" Sakura blinked.

"Oh…now I remember," Sakura said. She turned to Tsunade. "Arigatou, Tsunade-shishou." Tsunade just nodded.

"Shishou?" everyone said, confused as to why Sakura addressed Tsunade like that and not as "sama". Sakura laughed faintly.

"Tsunade-shishou has been teaching me some medical things for a while…I forgot to tell you guys. That's why I've been staying after school…"

"That's why you never go shopping with me!" Ino said.

"And why you don't practice soccer with me!" Tenten said.

"And why you never eat ramen with me at Ichiraku's!" Naruto said. Sakura sweat dropped.

"Eh…yea…sorry about that, guys…"

"It's okay, Sakura-chyaaaaaaaan! Just get better soon!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura nodded and smiled.

"I will."

"Sakura, you should be getting home. Sasuke's going to take you, okay?" Tsunade said.

"Sure…but I really don't need somebody to take me, Tsunade-shishou!" Sakura complained. Tsunade gave her a stern look.

"Yes, you _do_ need somebody to take you, Sakura. What if you fainted on the way home?" Sakura couldn't argue with that.

"Fine…but why is it always that bastard…" Sakura mumbled. Sasuke smirked.

"Because I _care_, Sakura-_chan_," Sasuke said mockingly. Sakura shot him a glare.

"Hm…thank you for caring, Sasuke-_sensei_."

"You're welcome."

"Can you two lovers do your bickering elsewhere?! I have sake to go back to, not to mention the amount of time you wasted for me! I could be gambling right now if you brats just left. Get out! School's over!" Tsunade boomed, pointing to the door. Sasuke and Sakura became red while the others snickered. They all exited the room, and Tsunade walked back to her office.

* * *

"I _really_ wish I weren't always stuck with you, Sasuke-kun." Sakura was a bit gloomy, not to mention light-headed and dizzy. She felt like the world was going to collapse right there and then, but she tried her best to conceal it. Sasuke just shrugged. This irritated Sakura even more. Her eyebrow began to twitch. She put a palm to her forehead.

"**Great. He's giving me an even **_**worse**_** headache!"**

'Yea, but you know you love him deep inside!' Sakura glared at what seemed to be nothing, but was actually her inner.

"**Can you just stop now?! I'm extremely annoyed and my head feels like it's going to explode right now! And you're seriously helping me feel better!" **Inner Sakura shut up. Sakura pondered as to why she was annoyed with Sasuke; he hadn't done anything wrong for the day. Heck, he even helped her. Maybe she was just in a bad mood, but she wanted to apologize.

"Gomen, Sasuke-kun. I'm just in a really bad mood…" Sasuke shrugged again.

"It's fine…It seemed like you felt kinda bad so I just let you get angry. It makes you feel better sometimes…"

"Hm…yea…that's kinda true. Thanks."

"Aa." A moment of silence.

"Can you tell me what happened again? I wasn't so sure…It's extremely hard to remember…" Sakura asked.

"Well, I can't be sure since I wasn't in the water with you, but while you were about mid-way through, you disappeared underwater for a while. And then you popped back up. Mitsuki said something about her dragging you down. You called her a bitch," they both smirked at this, "and well, you got to the wall. I caught up for the team, and we won…"

"Hm...I thought you won for us, since Tenten was cheering on our side, but Ino and Hinata were too worried about me. I think Naruto was, too…I'm not sure."

"Definitely." They finally reached Sakura's house.

"Hehe…well, Sasuke-kun, ja ne!" Sakura turned around but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. She pouted. "Sasuke-kun…let me go…please!"

"Tsunade said that I had to stay with you…" Sasuke said, shaking his head, refusing to let Sakura's wrist go. Sakura began to squirm.

"_Please_, Sasuke-kun. I can take care of myself!" Sasuke sighed.

"Not my fault, Sakura," Sasuke said before picking Sakura up bridal style.

"Eek! Put me down!" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the madly blushing Sakura. "At least get in quickly! What if somebody in the neighborhood saw us, huh?!" Sasuke shrugged, but ran up to the door. "Put me down! I have to unlock the door you know!"

"Fine. Anyway, you're heavy." Sakura scowled. _'Click'_ The door opened and the two slipped inside.

"So, you want some tea or something?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, but you should get some, since you still have a fever I think."

"Oh, I'll just take some Advil and I'll be fine."

"Hn. Whatever." Sasuke plopped himself on the couch.

"Hey, get your ass off my couch." Sasuke turned his head toward Sakura. "And stop smirking!"

"Why should I?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, your unbelievable!" Sakura was halfway up the stairs when she stopped and turned to Sasuke. "Can't you just get o-" She began to fall. Luckily, Sasuke was looking at her and saw her falling.

"Sakura!" He ran quickly to her and picked her up. He ran upstairs and lay her in her bed, covering her with blankets and all. Sasuke grabbed a chair from the desk and sat near her for a while. He pushed a few pink strands away from Sakura's face.

"**Damn it, Sakura…why do you make me worry? Nobody else does, not more than you…"

* * *

**Sakura sat up from bed. She held her dizzy head.

"What happened?" Sakura said, trying to remember the incident before. She remembered climbing up the stairs before she blacked out.

"**But why am I in my bed?"** She than remembered Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun?" No answer.

"**Must've left." **She turned to her bedside table and saw a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a note. She picked the note up and read it:

_It seems sleeping beauty finally woke up. Well, some soup I managed to make after learning in home ec. Hope you don't get poisoned, Pinky._

_-Sasuke aka Captain Chicken Hair_

Sakura smiled before glancing at the soup.

"**Hm…maybe I'll try it…" **Sakura took a quick sip of the already cold soup. **"Not bad…not bad, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

**_Next day at school…_

"Hey, guys!" Sakura exclaimed, all well with bright green eyes gleaming once again, as she walked through the school gates and saw her friends chatting.

"Forehead girl, we were so worried about you! We thought that Sasuke bastard would kill you!!!!" Ino said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I warned her if my food would kill her," Sasuke retorted. Sakura giggled.

"It wasn't bad. So it didn't poison me. Thanks for taking care of me, Sasuke-kun." A microscopic blush formed on Sasuke's cheeks. He turned away.

"Whatever." Neji raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"It seems the Uchiha has feelings and is capable of blushing…." Said Uchiha shot Neji a glare.

"Shut up. It's not like you, Hyuuga, never blushed around Tenten." Neji blushed while Sasuke gave a triumphant smirk.

"**Neji blushed?...And it was because of me?" **Tenten thought in her head, very confused.

"Sakura-chan, are you feeling better today?" Hinata said. Sakura nodded.

"Good as new!"

"Yay! Sakura-chan is better, so now she can treat me to ramen!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and down. Sakura and Sasuke bonked him on the head. Naruto pouted. "Oooow…that hurt you guys!"

"Hmph, you deserved it, Naruto," Sakura said.

"Hn. Dobe."

"What did you say teme?!"

"You know what I said."

"Argh! I'm go-"

'_Briiiiing' _

"Class, guys. Me and Neji gotta go!" Tenten exclaimed. "You guys can take your damn time! Kaka-sensei is probably gonna be late again, anyways!" Neji and Tenten ran off and climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

"We better go, too…though we can take our time…" Hinata suggested. The others nodded though Shikamaru was mumbling, " Troublesome." He ended up being bonked in the head several times by Ino.

* * *

_In class **(skip if you don't want to see MAJOR spoilers, again this section CAN be skipped)**_

"Ohayo, everyone! Yes, I am late, and I know you don't want my excuses, but I'm changing this math class into history," Kakashi announced as he waltzed into the room, surprisingly _not_ reading his precious Icha Icha. Groans were heard mixed in with some cheers from history freaks. "Settle down, guys. It's something worth while. I found a website to see if you actually were a ninja in _your_ past life. I know for a fact it works, for out of the faculty, only Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, Gai, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I have actually gotten a result, with the people resembling and having the exact traits as us. And I few others I believe. Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji have also gotten results yesterday when I tried with their class. They were even in the same ninja squad." Murmurs were heard.

"Even you and Jiraiya's perviness?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. Kakashi grinned sheepishly.

"Er…yea." Sasuke sneered.

"And your sharingan eye?"

"Yep, that too, Sasuke." Murmurs quickly broke into full fledged conversations. "What is that?" "Huh? What the hell?" "Sharingan?" "The eye thing?" "What clan was that again?" "Don't you remember?!"

"Settle down. I'm bringing you to the computer lab to see the site. I'll give it to you all, and all you have to do is type in your name when the screen pops up. You'll get most of the information until you're about fifteen to sixteen years old, like the age you are now. It was the same age as for the staff, seeming as the rest of the information seems to be lost. But that's only if you can actually find your name. If you don't find that you were one, crowd around the ones you do, but you _can't_ just study one; you have to study all of them. Got it?"

"Hai!"

_In the computer lab…_

"Okay, everyone. I'll give you about five minutes until I ask who has gotten one, and you must raise your hand if you did. I'll be coming around to see. Everyone, get to work!" Clicking and furious typing was heard. Every student was hoping to have one ninja past life. Five minutes passed, and Kakashi had already heard many groans of disappointment.

"So…who has one?" Ten people raised their hand. "Ami, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata. Hm…okay, I'm coming to look." Kakashi scrolled through each screen before going to the front of the room again. "Ami, I'm sorry but your profile is much to small. The only significant thing there is that Ino threw poisonous flowers at you when you were picking on Sakura and you were president of the Sasuke fan club." Kakashi chuckled and Sasuke scowled. Laughing and giggling was heard, with some whines in the middle.

"What!? Teme _still_ had a fanclub?! Even then!!!" Naruto yelled. Sakura was busy laughing but managed to gasp.

"Yes-haha-I can't believe-haha-it!" Kakashi scrolled down Sasuke's page before grinning.

"Sakura, it seems you were one of Sasuke's 'admirers'." Sakura stopped laughing and Sasuke smirked. "Well, it wasn't really shown if you still loved him when you were fifteen…it's unsure." Kakashi scanned the page. "Hm…interesting ninja life you had Sasuke. Read the affiliation for me?"

"Otogakure. Hidden Sound?" Sasuke read. Kakashi nodded.

"Now read previous affiliation."

"Konohagakure. Hidden Leaf…"

"Well, it seems you betrayed the Hidden Leaf Village." Sasuke was staring at the screen, eyebrows raised a bit.

"And why would I do that?" Kakashi sighed.

"Well, we have to read don't we? Hm…Uchiha Sasuke was a happy boy when he was younger. He constantly had fangirls fawning over him, and since he was from the prestigious Uchiha clan, he was expected to be a genius and constantly felt belittled by his brother, Uchiha Itachi, who was also a great ninja. His brother became ANBU at a young age, and was the 'pride of the Uchiha clan'. That was until he massacred the whole Uchiha clan, excluding his younger brother. Sasuke managed to survive at nine, but was forced to see the massacre while trapped in his brother's genjutsu, and from then on swore to avenge the clan," Kakashi said, reading the text. Sasuke's eyes widened a bit, finding Itachi murdering a bit startling. Kakashi continued to read.

"Sasuke then became emotionless, not expressing much feeling in his academy days. Fangirls still went after him, despite this, because he is claimed to have good looks and skill. When graduating from academy at twelve, Sasuke was assigned under Hatake Kakashi-see I told you guys I was here- with Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura to form team seven.

"At first, it was a love triangle, with Naruto liking Sakura but her resenting him to chase after Sasuke. Sasuke didn't display much emotion at all, at least not until he later learned to work with the group. They went through the water country and battled S-ranked nin Zabuza and Haku. There, he awakens his bloodline limit, sharingan, for he is put in a life threatening situation when against Haku.

"The team returns back to Konoha, and shortly after takes the Chunin Exams. The team goes up against Orochimaru, former Konoha ninja and one of the legendary sannin who trained under the sandaime hokage. He puts a curse seal on Sasuke, which makes his power hungry and compelled to join Orochimaru. Soon, it is sealed, but must use Sasuke's will to keep it under control. Since Sasuke already wants to kill Itachi, it is a difficult task. Team seven fails to pass the Chunin exams the first time, along with the other two teams that graduated that year. Team Gai also fails to pass. In the middle, the sound and sand invade Konoha. Sasuke pursues Gaara, one of the sand nin, and tries to confront him. The sandaime hokage dies in the middle, having his student, Orochimaru, kill him. Hm…Sasuke meets his brother a few weeks after the sound and sand invasion again and tries to attack him, but is trapped in genjutsu, this time more powerful than the last. (**MAJOR MANGA CHAPTERS 340+ SPOILERS AHEAD!!! CAUTION)**

"Feeling far to weak after recovering, he leaves to go to Orochimaru and trains with him for two and a half years. Sakura tries to stop him on his way to leave and even confesses. All he says to her before knocking her out was, 'Thank you,' rather than a good-bye. Naruto later confronts him, but fails to bring him back. Sasuke goes to sound and trains, but ends up later killing his mentor when his body was to be taken over. He than frees some of Orochimaru's old subordinates and 'experiments'. Hm…he than pursues his brother with his team, not knowing that in Konoha, his former teammates are still faithful to him…that's it. Look's like that's why you left. Pretty long bio if you ask me."

**(SPOILERS END FOR SASUKE)**

"Wow…Sasuke-kun…would you really betray us?!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head.

"Nah. I don't _think_ so." Kakashi shrugged. Some fangirls were crying.

"Don't leave us, Sasuke-kun!"

"Maybe I _will_ leave you guys…just not the others," Sasuke snapped back. More tears ran down the fangirls' faces. Kakashi chuckled. **(NARUTO AND SAKURA TIME SKIP SPOILERS)**

"I'm going to scan Sakura and Naruto's quickly and give a short summary. Sakura and Naruto experienced the events similar to Sasuke, just excluding the curse seal and training under Orochimaru. Sakura later advances to chunin during the time skip, but Naruto left to train with another sannin, Jiraiya. Sakura also trains under the other sannin, Tsunade, to be a medic. She is said to be able to surpass her teacher…interesting." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Surpass Tsunade-shishou!"

**(END SPOILERS)**

"Go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto and Ino yelled.

"Hai!" Hinata exclaimed in agreement. Shikamaru nodded and some of the class clapped. Sakura blushed.

"Er…thanks everyone, but it might not happen right?"

"Hm…maybe _some_ of history may repeat itself. Just not all of it…Well, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were put together. Shino, Kiba, and Hinata are together. Hm…the first three are under Sarutobi Asuma, and the latter are under Yuuhi Kurenai, a genjutsu specialist. Asuma dies and I become your temporary teacher for a bit, at least until you avenge him."

"Whoa!" everyone in the class exclaimed. "How come _they_ get such good profiles?!" The fangirls shrieked afterwards, protesting about Sakura in particular.

"Well _I_ got one," Ami said smugly.

"But you aren't _important_," Kakashi said. Ami harrumphed. "Well, class is over…get to your next period!" Shuffling of chairs were heard and mumbles of excitement about what Kakashi showed the students filled the air.

"Girls," Mitsuki said. "We _have_ to stop Haruno. Now. Execute the plan at lunch." They nodded.

* * *

_Lunch_

"Wow, that's so awesome, Sakura, Hinata, Ino. I was a weapons mistress!" Tenten exclaimed as the six described their ninja profiles.

"That's so cool!" Ino exclaimed. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"So, Uchiha, it seems you've become a traitor," Neji said smugly. Sasuke glared.

"Who said that would happen. Itachi wouldn't murder my clan. Some people have seen how he acts. Including you. He didn't have any dark motives or secrets like the ninja him."

"True, true. Orochimaru-sensei works here anyway. He can't establish a school so fast," Neji reasoned. Sasuke nodded.

"See what I mean?"

"It's true, but the whole thing was troublesome. Though a tad bit interesting I suppose."

"A 'tad bit'?! Shikamaru, that was _amazing_! I learned this awesome move called Rasengan! You like spin the chakra and then it becomes a spinning ball!" Shikamaru peeked an eye open.

"The ninja stuff is probably why Neji and Hinata have byakugan, Sasuke has sharingan, Ino can control and enter minds, Sakura wants to be a doctor, Naruto is so obsessed with ramen, Tenten likes pointy things, and I can control those troublesome shadows. It was because of our past family history."

"Ohh…" Tenten, Ino, Naruto, and Sakura said.

"Well, excuse me, I have to go use the bathroom. Ino, pack my lunch if I don't come back in time, okay?" Sakura said, standing up. Ino nodded.

"Sure, forehead girl." Sakura got up and left the group, leaving the rest chatting still.

* * *

"Target is alone. She's heading to the bathroom now, President," Ami reported to Mitsuki.

"Good. Get the recruits on the roof to ready and meet Haruno in the bathroom."

"Hai!" Ami flipped out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Get ready. I'm getting her up."

* * *

"Hey, Sakura." Sakura turned the water off and turned to the doorway of the girls' bathroom.

"Ami?" The purple haired girl smiled sweetly, too sweet to be real. She began to walk towards Sakura. "What are you doing?!"

"Haruno, Haruno, Haruno, your just so unsuspecting. Did you think we'd let you flirt with Sasuke-kun for so long?" Ami grabbed Sakura's wrist. She squirmed, too weak from her recent fever to get out of Ami's grip.

"What are you talking about! Let go!" Sakura screamed. Ami put a hand over her mouth.

"Just come with me." Ami quickly moved Sakura to the roof, since they only needed to climb one more level of stairs. She kicked the door of the roof open and pushed Sakura onto the floor. The others of Mitsuki's posse were already there, including the president.

"Hm…good job, Ami. Get her girls. Part one of the plan, execute!" The girls began to kick at the trying to stand up Sakura. She blocked some of the kicks, but one of Mitsuki's got her in the face hard. Sakura took a few more beatings before the fangirls stepped away. Sakura stood up, swaying in her motions. She wiped blood from her lips and steadied herself.

"You guys-pant-are so pathetic, attacking others to get to Sasuke-kun. Yo-"

"Shut up, Haruno!" Mitsuki delivered a high kick to Sakura, which she blocked with her arm. "Execute part two!" Ami threw some pocket knives/razors to the others. Sakura stayed firm; her inner was taking over now.

"Tch. Even using _knives_. Truly, Mitsuki, you're a sad sight. Obsession with a boy getting to your head." Mitsuki growled and charged at Sakura with her knife. Sakura quickly used her arms, but got stabbed there. She winced and Mitsuki smirked. Ami charged at her again, which Sakura blocked with her other arm. Crimson blood dripped from her arm, and it splattered on the floor. Sakura fell down.

"Haruno, you look so pathetic," Mitsuki snarled. Sakura spat out some blood.

"And you don't happen to _be_ pathetic?" Mitsuki flared. She turned to her four companions.

"Girls, execute the final part of the plan."

Tsuki grabbed Sakura by the hair and dropped her pocket knife. Inner Sakura, who was taking over at the time, had an idea.

'Sakura, I have an idea, but it's going to sacrifice your hair.'

"**I don't care about my hair! These fucking fangirls are getting on my nerves. Cut it!"**

'Okay. Watch your language there, missy.'

"**Not the time, inner me, really, not the time!"**

Sakura quickly grabbed the pocket knife. Ami sneered.

"What are you going to do? Throw it?" Mitsuki said. Sakura ignored them and swiftly cut her hair loose from Tsuki's grip.

"What?!" Tsuki screeched. Sakura threw the knife down.

"Argh!" she screamed in pain.

* * *

"Argh!" Sasuke heard faintly as they were walking back inside.

"Sakura!" Ino turned, worry written all over her face.

"Something happened to her?!"

"Roof!" Sasuke called to the others as they rushed up the stairs, trying to catch up with Sasuke. He kicked the door open to find a bloody mess of pink hair on the floor. Sakura was kneeling, face scrunched up in pain.

"Sakura!" she lifted her head. A look of relief passed through before pain quickly replaced it again.

"Sasuke-kun! Look what she did! She tried to commit suicide and we tried to stop her, but she cut her hair!" Mitsuki cried. Sakura gave Sasuke a desperate look.

"Do you really think I believe you?!" Sasuke boomed. Mitsuki whimpered. He quickly pressed each of the fangirls pressure points to knock them out, but let them fall to the ground. The others finally caught up.

"Sakura! Again?! Your hair!" Ino screamed. Sakura gave a weak smile before collapsing onto Sasuke. He picked her up.

"We have to get her to Tsunade ASAP. She's even worse than the drowning incident."

* * *

"Sakura! Again! What happened?! She has two deep gashes, one on each arm, and she's bruised everywhere!"

"It's those fangirls! They had the nerve to even use _knives_!" Tenten cried. Tsunade shook her head.

"I have to expel those people. If they keep doing this to Sakura…Okay, right now, I have to take care of her…we'll deal with them soon. I'll ask her what happens when she wakes up. Now, leave. I need to concentrate this time…"

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** Sports Festival?! Teams?! Preparation When You Put Kakashi and Gai Together!

"Okay, start of with maybe 10 laps…" Kakashi suggested.

"NO! THIRTY! LONG LIVE YOUTH!" Gai said.

"YES, GAI-SENSEI IS RIGHT! WHO'S WITH US?!" Lee cried. _'Cricket' 'Cricket'_

"Yay, Kakashi-sensei!" everyone excluding Kakashi, Gai, and Lee yelled.

* * *

A/N: Another less straightforward chapter! Well, it was long, you have to admit. Sorry for any major spoilers any of you might have read! I love you all! Gosh...I'm really sorry if any of you happened to glimspe it and/or get tempted to read the spoilers! Sorry!

tennisxdork, I really didn't mind you spelling it wrong! Anyway, you corrected it, right?! So all is well! Yay! Today we kinda had a sports festival of our own (I've _got_ to mention it was already 90+ degrees farenhite outside) and well, the blue team won! Yay! So you probably figured I was on the blue team. My brother was on white, and well, I teased him a _lot_ about it. xD

Well, a on time chapter! Whoo! Keep reading and press the periwinkle "Go" button! You know you want to! Thanks everyone!

Kikoru x3


	9. Chapter IX: Sports Fest Preperation!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter IX: Sports Festival?! Teams?! Preparation When You Put Kakashi and Gai Together!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: Hey! _**Please, please check out my new fanfic "From Orphans to Thieves**_". I would really love it! Please! Sasuke is just like a _total _flirt in there…seriously…well please read it! I would really like it! It takes place in Venice, Italy, and is based on the book The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, though I twisted the plot and situation a bit. Well read it please! Grazie to all those who've already read it! Sorry for the late update!

* * *

'_Knock' 'Knock' _"Tsunade-sama, can we come in now?" Tenten called softly from the other side of the door.

"Uhm…she's fine now…just needs a day's rest or so. Come in." _'Click'_ The gang rushed to her side.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered softly, blue eyes welling up with tears when he saw Sakura. He wiped them away quickly. Ino, however, began to sob for her best friend. Sakura's forehead was wrapped in bandages, and her arms as well. You could already see some blood seeping through the white cloth. Her breathing was even and deep, showing she was asleep. Bruises and scratches were seen everywhere.

"Sakura has a fragile body…you must make sure the fangirls don't do anything else to her…" Tsunade said. "I can't exactly expel them yet…their families contribute much to the school's fund." Naruto sighed.

"But you could do _something_ at least. Like suspend them?" Naruto suggested hopefully.

"I suppose I could…I'll try my best. You guys should leave and come and get her before school ends. I'll write you guys late passes. You all better help her get home. All of you stay this time…it's not a fever, she just shouldn't move too much. She'll be alright by the end of the week." Hinata looked at Tsunade hopefully as the blonde haired medic scribbled down a notes to the teachers.

"She can attend the sports festival then, right? It's two and a half weeks from now."

"Yes, she can. It won't really affect her legs in any way. They're just a bit bruised and things. She'll be fine by then." They sighed in relief. "Here are each of your late passes. Now, shoo! Come back after class!" Tsunade finished, waving a hand towards the door. Everyone seemed hesitant before they reluctantly walked out of the nurse's office.

"Tsunade-obaa-chan?" Naruto asked softly, the opposite of his normal personality.

"What is it you brat?" Tsunade snapped, angry at the nickname she received.

"Are you the nurse usually?" he asked again, ignoring the irritated tone of Tsunade.

"No, actually. Shizune usually does this stuff…but I felt like I had a duty to my student…" Tsunade murmured. "Even if it meant dealing with blood…" The last part was unheard to anyone except the one who spoke the words.

'_Click'_ The door was closed. Tsunade looked at the white ceiling.

"**Nobody has figured out that I'm scared of blood, huh?" **She glanced down at her sleeping apprentice. **"But this time, it might be worth it…"

* * *

**_In the hallway_…

"Ne, Sasuke-teme, you worried about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked his best friend. Sasuke glanced at Naruto before keeping silent. Naruto sighed. "It's okay if you are. Everyone's worried about her…"

"Bye, guys. We have English with Asuma-sensei now," Tenten said, sliding the door open as she and Neji walked in.

"Well, we just need to walk a little more until we reach the science lab. I wonder if Kurenai-sensei will be mad…" Hinata said timidly. The others shrugged. Ino slid the door open as they reached the room. Kurenai was writing some things on the chalk board. The students were copying the notes and procedure for the experiment. Kurenai stopped to face them. Her crimson eyes were filled with question.

"Where have you guys been?" she asked strictly. They didn't say anything, but they gave their notes to Kurenai. She quickly scanned each of them to find the same message.

_Yuuhi Kurenai:_

_Excuse these six students for being late to your science class. Haruno Sakura is missing among the ones that have entered. She's been badly hurt by some of Uchiha's fangirls, I believe the ones that just transferred to class 1-3, so excuse her complete absence. Please send those five fangirls to my office. I have to deal with them. _

_The that have appeared in your class are worried friends, and I allowed them to stay for a little longer. I hope there are no other disruptions to your class. _

_-Principal Tsunade_

Kurenai looked up and sighed. "Okay, you guys go sit at your usual spots. Sasuke, since Sakura's not here and she's your partner, I'm afraid you'll have to do the lab alone," she said. Sasuke shrugged. "The others…well all of you just copy down what I've written so far. Yoshida Mitsuki, Watanabe Ami, Yukino Tsuki, Sawagashi Hikari, and Fujiwara Kiki, please follow me to Principal Tsunade's office. She has some business with you. Now everyone, don't make too much noise when I leave. Come on now." The five fangirls' eyes widened with fear, but they got up. Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, and Shikamaru took their seats and began to copy their notes as the fangirls brushed past them while following Kurenai.

"Serves them right," Ino growled under her breath.

* * *

_With Tsunade, Kurenai, Kakashi, and the fangirls_

"Kakashi, I understand that these students have just recently transferred to your class, 1-3, from class 1-1," Tsunade said. Kakashi nodded, actually not reading his porn book. "Who's the homeroom teacher for that class again?"

"It's Kairi. Suzuki Kairi," Kurenai answered. "She was always timid. No wonder she let them transfer. These five could have easily threatened her." Kurenai glared at the fangirls, who began to look down.

"Do you, fangirls, have any defense against that?" Tsunade said. Mitsuki began to fake sob.

"We just wanted to be with Sasuke-kun!" she whined. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"You can stop your innocent act!" she roared, slamming her hands on the table. Kakashi's lone black eye wandered to the fangirls. He glanced at Tsunade. "Go ahead." Kakashi dragged the fangirls over.

"Hello," he stated calmly. "Look in my eye." The fangirls reluctantly did. Kakashi pulled the cloth covering his eye to reveal a red eye.

"Sharingan?!" Mitsuki cried, recognizing the Uchiha bloodline limit instantly. "But how?!" Kakashi gave an evil grin.

"Do you really have to know? Sharingan!" the fangirls fell into a daze and collapsed on the floor. Kakashi covered his red eye again. "What now, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade shrugged.

"I'll figure something out. I hope you didn't torture then too much." Kakashi grinned.

"Don't worry. Not too much. Just enough to know that their 'precious Sasuke-kun' doesn't like them at all…"

"Kakashi, I have a feeling these fangirls are still going to 'persevere' and try to get their 'beloved' Sasuke from Sakura…I don't want my apprentice in more danger…" Kakashi sighed at Tsunade's remark.

"I suppose it's true…I don't want Sakura getting hurt more than you do…"

"Me neither…Sakura is a very bright student…" Kurenai said. Tsunade nodded as did Kakashi.

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, but she might even surpass yourself," Kakashi remarked. A smile played on Tsunade's pink lips.

"She might…there's a good chance of it…She's a tough girl…she'll get through this all fine."

* * *

_In the science classroom…_

"Oh my god! What are they going to do with President and the tops?" a fangirl cried in distress. Some others began to worry as well.

"But if she's gone, then we have a bigger chance of getting to Sasuke-kun!" another remarked. Cheers were heard. Sasuke rolled his eyes and dropped a bit of sulfuric acid into the mixture, like the instructions on the board said.

"**Like they ever will."** Just then, Kurenai walked back in…_alone_.

"Hello, class. I suspect that you're all started with your experiment, and have at least one reaction charted down." Nods and a few panicked, "Eeks!" were heard. Kurenai smiled. "Wonderful! Well, class is over, so you may all leave. Tonight's homework is to do the questions on page 112 based on what you have observed today and to study for your upcoming mid-terms!" Groans were heard. "I see you still haven't heard about them yet from the other teachers! Well, I want to remind you that they're all on the same day, July 17! Class dismissed!" Shuffling was heard and the class piled out of the door, with many trying to find a "study buddy" for the mid-term.

"Call me tonight to study, okay?"

"Come over to my house!"

"The library at four today?"

"What subject?"

"You need help with history?!"

"Science is definitely hardest!"

"Ah! I can't get my English straight! Is it, 'Hello, how are you?' or , 'Hello, you how are?'!?" Naruto panicked when he heard this one.

"Sasuke-teme! Help! Which one is it?!" Naruto asked as they were walking down the hallway. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

" 'How are you?', dobe. It's so obvious."

"Can you help me study, teme? You never need to anyway!" Sasuke shot his "best friend" a glare.

"Go ask somebody else. I don't need to study, and I'd rather not." Naruto cried fake anime tears and ran to Hinata.

"Hinata-chan, will _you_ help me study? sniffles" He clung to Hinata, making her blush.

"S-sure, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, trying not to stutter, but Naruto was too close for her to keep calm.

"Yay! I love you, Hinata-chyaaan!" Hinata blushed five shades of red. She tried to steady herself and not faint, but unfortunately for her, she fell into an unconscious state after six seconds of being in Naruto's arms and him saying, "I love you!" to her none the less. Ino came up to Naruto and bonked him on the head.

"Ooooow, what was that for, Ino? I'm trying to hold Hinata-chan up! She just fainted!"

"Why don't ya point out the obvious! _You_ made her faint!" Ino yelled. Naruto's face had a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Everyone sweat dropped.

"**I can't believe he hasn't noticed she likes him…"** Hinata snapped up suddenly.

"Ano…what happened?" Hinata asked, still in a light daze.

"You fainted…" everyone said.

"Oh."

"Let's go, we have to get Sakura, now!" Ino said. They rushed to the nurse's office and on the way, Tenten and Neji followed too. When they entered, they found their pink haired friend trying to sit up. She managed to prop herself up and sighed.

"Sakura/Sakura-chyaaan/Forehead girl/Sakura-chan! Are you okay?!" almost everyone called out. Sakura turned to them, a bit startled, but she managed to flash them a weak smile.

"Oh! I'm fine guys! Don't worry about me!" Ino scowled.

"C'mon! We'll help you get out. We're staying at home with you for a few hours!"

"Bu-"

"No buts, little missy! It's Tsunade's orders!" Sakura sighed.

"Fine. But I can still participate in the sports festival right?" Everyone nodded. "Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air.

"Now, get out of the bed. Can you?" Ino said. Sakura nodded before stepping off the bed and slipping her shoes on. Ino made a motion to try and help support her, but Sakura waved her off. It seemed she didn't really need any help. Tsunade was right; the injuries weren't supposed to or going to affect her mobility or legs. "Sakura?" Sakura turned to her best friend.

"What, Ino-pig?"

"You know…I could fix your hair today when we come to your house…Tsunade wants us _all_ over with you anyway! It'll be fun!" Sakura looked at Ino skeptically. Tenten and Hinata nodded.

"**What if it's another one of those weird plans to set me up for a prank?"**

'Nah…I don't think so, since they think you're in a "fragile" state.'

"**I suppose so…porky seems innocent this time…Anyway, Hinata and Tenten are with her…" **"Sure, why not!"

"Sakura-chan, do you have any instant ramen in your house?" everyone sweat dropped. Sakura walked up to Naruto and bonked him on the head.

"Baka! Is that all you can think of? Well, let's go there and check than!" Sakura marched out of the room dragging Naruto.

"Sakura-chyaaan! That hurts!" Naruto yelled from the hallway.

"It's supposed to hurt!" Sakura shot back.

"O…kay…How has the once timid and sensitive Sakura has turned into a violent monster?" Ino said. The rest shrugged and followed Sakura and Naruto (well more or less Sakura) in a normal matter.

* * *

_The next week…_

The class was bustling with its usual morning noise, gossiping, whispering, and, for the matter, yelling. _'Swoosh'_ Kakashi walked into the door, for once on time.

"Ohayo, everyone." The whole class turned to Kakashi and began to blink in a consistent yet slow manner. Kakashi grinned under his mask. "Surprised to see me on time? Well…today we'll be doing some training and preparation with one of the second year classes that will be on our team for the sports festival. The third years in this school do not participate, since they will be taking college entrance exams next semester, and they need preparation for that. I have this envelope," Kakashi held up a brown envelope, "and in it has the other class's number. I'm going to open it." Kakashi began to slowly open the envelope, looking up to see if anyone was looking. Sure enough, all eyes were on him. He also noticed the extreme fangirls weren't there, and were replaced by his previous students. **"They probably put them into another class…with a stricter, less timid teacher…Kurenai perhaps? Or maybe Asuma…"**

"GET ON WITH IT, KAKA-SENSEI!!!" Naruto yelled. Everyone nodded furiously in agreement. Kakashi sighed and opened the envelope. Inside was a light blue sheet of paper. It read:

_Class: 2-1_

_Homeroom Teacher: Maito Gai; Gym teacher_

"Maito Gai's class, 2-1." Squeals of delight, moans of disappointment, and quick whispering was heard throughout the classroom.

"Yay, Tenten's with us!" Sakura whispered happily to Ino and Hinata.

"Now, everyone get changed and meet in the track field outside!"

"Hai!"

* * *

_In the track field…_

"Hey, guys!" Tenten called.

"Hi!" Sakura, Ino, and Hinata greeted back.

"I'm _so_ glad I'm with you guys!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Me too!" Sakura said back.

"Everyone, come over here." Both classes moved toward the two teachers, where a lot of tension from Gai was forming. Kakashi acted as if he couldn't feel anything.

"Ne, Tenten, why is Gai emitting that…_angry_ aura?" Sakura asked. Tenten sighed.

"They're called the 'Eternal Rivals' of Konoha. Ever since their _middle_ school days, they've been rivals. Currently, the score is tied between the two…Gai seems to care a lot about this, but Kakashi is laid back and pretends never to notice. Once I remember Gai challenging Kakashi to a match out of _no where_."

* * *

_Flashback_

A happy, first year Tenten was humming down the hall. Opposite of her, Kakashi was walking calmly, porn book in hand. "Hi, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Y-"

"Hatake Kakashi, I challenge you to a match!" Gai yelled. Kakashi turned.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked in a questioning manner, though his face didn't change into another expression.

"Yes! You pick the game this time, Kakashi!" Kakashi thought for a moment as Tenten was awed by this, but decided to enjoy the show.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors."

"OKAY!"

"Ro, Sham, Bo!"

…

…

…

… "HOW DID I LOSE!?" Gai yelled. His hands were in the "paper" formation. Kakashi had scissors, which he quickly withdrew and began to walk away while Gai stood, shocked, in front of the room he jumped out of. Tenten sweat dropped before walking back to her classroom.

_End flashback

* * *

_"So you see, Kakashi _really _doesn't take this seriously...not as seriously as Gai. I mean, he challenged rock, paper, scissors!" Tenten said.

"Oh…"

"Okay, start of with maybe 10 laps…" Kakashi suggested.

"NO! THIRTY! LONG LIVE YOUTH!" Gai said.

"YES, GAI-SENSEI IS RIGHT! WHO'S WITH US?!" Lee cried. _'Cricket' 'Cricket'_

"YAY, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" everyone excluding Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Neji, and Sasuke yelled.

"Fine…Kakashi, you win again…51 to 50…" Gai grumbled. Kakashi seemed to ignore this and watched as the students ran around the track. "But let's see which can run faster…one of my students, or yours…I pick Rock Lee…and you?" Kakashi thought for a moment.

"**Maybe Sasuke? His speed **_**has**_** become faster over the past years…he can get somewhere with the blink of an eye…**_**not**_** using a teleportation jutsu…Okay…I guess so…" **"Uchiha Sasuke…well after their all finished running laps right?" Gai nodded. The ten laps were done in a while.

"OKAY! EVERYONE, THERE WILL BE A RACE BETWEEN MY PUPIL, ROCK LEE, AND UCHIHA SASUKE ON BEHALF OF HATAKE KAKASHI AND MY COMPETITION!" Sasuke blinked before throwing a glare at Kakashi, who seemed to be grinning under his mask.

"Not my idea, Sasuke…it was all Gai…but seemingly that I don't want to lose this, I'll allow you to use your _real_ speed." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, his once mentor actually.

"Your serious?" Kakashi nodded.

"Be careful with the Rock Lee guy…he's quite fast as well…Though I really don't think so fast that you can't even see a blur out of him…"

"GAI-SENSEI! I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!" Lee yells, doing the good guy pose. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Oh…who do you think will win? Did they really have to drag their students into this?" Sakura asked Tenten. She shrugged in reply.

"I know Lee's pretty fast, but you can still see him if he runs. Like a blur you know…" Sakura gasped.

"Wow…I don't know if it's true, but Kakashi-sensei said that Sasuke can move so fast you can't see _anything_. Well, since he was what?...fifteen." Tenten nodded. "I don't know if it's true though…"

"OKAY! THEY WILL BOTH DO 100 LAPS, WHOEVER FINISHES FIRST WINS!"

"Whoa! How will they do that?"

"That's insane!"

"What the hell? Are they crazy!!!" Sakura yelled. Tenten winced.

"Your vocal cords are definitely healthy, Sakura," Tenten remarked, covering her ears. Sakura turned to Tenten.

"No really! If you run that many laps, you could actually _die_! If it was Naruto, he might be able to survive, but only _slightly_! He has an enormous amount of stamina, probably more than anyone in the _city_!" Tenten covered her mouth.

"_Really_?"

"That's what Tsunade-shishou said. She told me everyone has limits…100 laps is definitely past it for those two! For goodness sake, their only in _high school_!"

"On your mark!" Gai yelled.

"Get set!"

"Matte kurasai!" Sakura yelled. All heads turned to her, even the runners. "Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, you _cannot_ make them do _100_ laps….They both don't have enough stamina. It's nearly _impossible_ for somebody to do that without taking hours for it. It's not a sprint! Tsunade-shishou said that everyone has a limit! _Nobody_ can run 100 laps like a sprint! Somebody like Naruto-if he really tried- would barely make it, and he already has an enormous amount of stamina in him! Your going to waste both Lee-san and Sasuke-kun's stamina, not to mention our time! Just cut this one short…we're not here to be used for competition yet! We're all on the same team anyway!" Everyone stood there stunned.

"Are you _doubting_ Sasuke-kun's abilities?!" a fangirl that snapped out of her daze managed yell. Sakura shot the girl an icy glare.

"No! That has nothing to do with it! I believe he has much ability, but this is about their _stamina_, their _lives_! This could kill them, unless this isn't a sprint! Which on the other hand will take _hours_! We can't stand about for hours trying to see who will-"

"Sakura, that's enough," Kakashi said. "We've both given it much thought, and it is a bit ridiculous. We're taking your advice, since you've been training under Tsunade-sama, so you're bound to know…Anyway, we have to do some exercise ourselves, don't we? Can't just watch them race…"

"SO, INSTEAD, WE WILL HOLD SOME QUICK PRACTICE RELAYS FOR THE DAY, SINCE THIS HAS ALREADY TAKEN MUCH OF THE MORNING!" Gai yelled. Cheers were heard.

"The teams will be split into groups of eight, since each relay needs four people to complete it. Four girls and four boys on each team. Some will be second years, and some will be first on each team. So…team one is…" Kakashi droned on, reading his clipboard.

"I hope I'm with you!" Sakura said, hugging Tenten's arm.

"Hehe…me too. I hope we're with the others!"

"Um…Sakura?" Sakura turned around.

"Oh! Hi, Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed. Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye, since his face was turned away, trying to hide the little blush that crept up on his face.

"Uh…thanks for saving me from doing 100 laps back there…Kakashi didn't tell me that part…"

"Oh, no problem!"

"Team 9, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, and Ino!" Kakashi's said. "Get together, you guys!" Sasuke returned to his normal self by the time the others came over.

"Yatta! We have Sakura and Tenten!" Ino yelled. The two mentioned laughed sheepishly. "You guys are _so_ fast!"

"No not really…we've got other fast people…like…Sasuke and Neji," Tenten said. Sakura nodded.

"And we have Naruto, who has a lot of stamina!"

"Hey, what about lazy-ass?" Ino commented.

"Actually, Shikamaru can run pretty fast if he tries," Sasuke said. The girls' eyes widened.

"_Really_?"

"Aa…"

"Now, we will be starting the relays. All odd teams are on one team, all even teams on the other. The real relays may or may not be this way, depending on Anko and Gai. Team 1 and team 2 and get ready, girls running first, and the last girl will pass to the first boy. The other teams figure out who gets what position," Kakashi said. Everyone huddled together, not paying attention to the ongoing race while other teams decided to ignore Kakashi's suggestion and cheer.

"Okay, let's decide for girls first," Shikamaru said. They nodded. "Who's the fastest?" Ino and Hinata were debating whether Tenten or Sakura was faster. They decided Tenten; She was more into sports than Sakura, who just could run fast for some unexplainable reason. "Put her as the last. I suggest we put Hinata in first, than Ino second. If those two-no offence- but that way, if you two happen to fall a little behind, Sakura and run faster to help catch up, and Tenten can take the rest." The girls nodded. "Now, for the guys, we're going to have to use a similar method. Since I probably won't try, I'll be first. Naruto obviously _will_ try, so he's definitely going to catch up a bit for me. Neji should probably be third, see that Sasuke is actually the fastest." Everyone nodded."

"Team 2 is the winner!"

…

"Team 3 is the winner!"

…

"Team 6 is the winner!"

…

"Team 7 is the winner! Now the final race, team 9 and team 10! Get into position. This will decide whether odd or even wins!" The group positioned into one lane.

"Hmph… I wonder what Pinky here can even do," a girl from the second year class sneered at Sakura. Sakura turned her head slowly.

"Go!" Hinata was making her way with the red rod to Ino. She reached there just a little after the other team, and once the rod touched her hand, Ino took off, though still a bit behind.

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?"

"You heard me, Pinky," the girl said before her partner gave her the red rod. Ino reached Sakura soon after.

"Go!" Ino said, panting. But her best friend didn't need that. Anger was fueling in Sakura.

"**Argh! I'm gonna crush that bitch to pieces!" **Sakura ran and quickly overtook the other girl, which left the junior awed at Sakura's speed. Sakura already reached Tenten long before the other girl. Tenten took off and quickly reached Shikamaru, giving the team a big head start since the rod didn't even reach the last girl yet. Shikamaru, however, didn't let the team down. He ran faster than anyone had ever seen him. What was he really chasing though? A cloud in the sky, and he successfully reached Naruto when the first boy was half-way on the other team. Naruto took off, doing his best and passed to Neji. Neji grabbed the rod. By that time, the other team's third hadn't gotten the rod yet, but was pretty close. Neji ran quickly so the other team couldn't out run team 9. Just in case. The rod reached Sasuke, where as the competition was pretty much determined, since he reached the finish line in less that five seconds. Nobody even saw him.

"Team 9 is the winner! Odds win!" Gai yelled. Cheers and groans were heard.

"Yatta!" Ino, Naruto, and Sakura yelled, jumping enthusiastically.

"Hey!" the girl that taunted Sakura yelled at Kakashi and Gai. "Wasn't Uchiha cheating?" Now, watching a girl from the high school actually a) call Sasuke "Uchiha" and b) accuse him of cheating was very uncommon.

"He did not. You just happened not to see him. That's what I meant when I put him against Lee before."

"**Kakashi's pupil is much like him…very skillful and agile. I see that this is true now…Uchiha Sasuke's speed is no rumor,"** Gai thought. The girl groaned at her failed attempt for a rematch.

"Well, I suppose you need to get back to classes now. Oh! Actually it's already lunch. Change and go eat!" Kakashi said. "Good luck in the sports festival. Class 1-3 and class 2-1, are working together!"

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview**: The Sports Festival Part 1: The Added Activities! And Tsunade's the Host?!

"Hello, everyone!" Tsunade's voice boomed through the field. Cheers were heard. "Today, I am the host of the Konoha Sports Festival! There are new activities in last year! I hope you all enjoy them! This will definitely be a different type of sports festival! Different from the normal!" She motioned to Kakashi.

"Some teachers will be playing too…" Kakashi, who was grinning under the mask, motioned to Kurenai, who had a sly smirk plastered on her face. Her red eyes scanned the crowd.

"And we will see who actually has the qualities of a ninja, tested by none other than us!" Gasps and cheers were heard. Sakura was confused.

"**The qualities of a…ninja?"

* * *

**A/N: Muahahaha, I'm associating the ninja thing a lot with this fanfic. I will keep doing it I think. For the sports festival at least. Part 2 will actually be the regular activities…well as regular as Konoha High can get…Yes, the teachers that have a nin profile actually _are_ still ninjas…at least they still have the qualities. Some OCs will also be ninja like…don't want to reveal who though! They might be strong or not coughcoughAmicoughcough. Sorry, again, for the late update. The explanation is on my profile page!

Again, please read my new fanfic "From Orphans to Thieves"! I have half of chapter two done for that. I'll work on it tomorrow, I think.

Ja ne!

Kikoru x3


	10. Chapter X: The Sports Festival Part 1

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter X: The Sports Festival Part 1: The Added Activities! And Tsunade's the Host?!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: Yay! It's actually the TENTH chapter! And I finally reached 50 reviews! Note: The actual idea of this chapter came from one of the Naruto OVAs, which I, again, don't own. TT.TT Gomen if I make this too nin-like, but part 2 will definitely be more normal! xD

* * *

_The day of the sports festival…_

'Ring'

'Ring'

'Ring' Sakura grumbled before picking up her cell phone. The caller ID read: Ino-pig. "Ohayo." she slurred, eyes half-open, only partially awake…for now.

"OH MY GOD! SAKURA, TODAY'S THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!!!" Ino yelled into the phone, so loud that it woke up the sleepy Sakura, who actually had to move the phone away from her ear for fear of becoming deaf.

"Uhm…I know, Ino-pig…It's _just_ a sports festival…" Sakura said calmly. She always spoke calmly and softly right after she woke up, unlike Ino.

"BUT IT'S OUR FIRST _HIGH SCHOOL_ SPORTS FESTIVAL. I ALSO HAVE THIS FEELING THAT KONOHA'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS!!!" Sakura just rolled her eyes as she jumped out of her bed and began to smoothen the sheets.

"Pig, can I hang up now?" Sakura asked. Ino sighed in frustration on the other line.

"No…I'm sorry, forehead. I know you have to get ready and stuff, but are you sure you're going to be okay?" Sakura seemed a bit startled at her friend's worry.

"Don't be stupid…I'll be fine. Those fangirls are suspended for a while anyway…" Ino nodded. "You need anything else?"

"Urm…yes…How should I wear my hair?" Sakura once again rolled her eyes at her blonde friend and walked into the bathroom. She grabbed her pink toothbrush and put the phone between her neck and shoulder, ignoring Ino for a bit as the squeezed the toothpaste. "HELLO! ARE YOU THERE?" Sakura became so startled that she squeezed too much, and a mess was formed at the bathroom floor. She sighed. She _definitely_ didn't want to be cleaning up right before school started, especially since Ino was on the phone with her. She put her toothbrush down as she reached for some tissues.

"Yes, I'm here. Just wear it in your usual ponytail…Gosh, is it _that _hard to choose? We're going to be wearing our gym uniforms anyway…which are at school…." Sakura said, the mess all cleaned up. She began to brush her teeth.

"…Oh yeaaaaaaa." Sakura rolled her eyes for the third time as she began to brush her teeth. "Tata, Sakura! I don't need you anymore! Um…can you come to school with me? I think Shika's too lazy today…" Sakura's ears perked up.

"Shikamaru? You guys walk to school together?" Sakura said after spitting and rinsing.

"Um…yea…so just meet me at the block won't you?"

"Sure…but you don't mind if Sasuke's there right?" Sakura said. Ino raised an eyebrow.

"_You_ guys walk to school together?" Sakura threw out her school uniform.

"Well, not really…it's just we happen to meet up when I pass by his house…and I doubt he'd time it." Ino nodded in understanding.

"That guy's cold sometimes…So do you _talk_ or anything?"

"Kinda…not really much though…we just happen to be partners in a lot of classes, so I guess we have _something _to talk about…Ino, I need to change. Ja! Wait for me, 'kay?"

"Uhm! Ja ne!" 'Click'

* * *

"What took so long, forehead?" Ino yelled to her pink haired friend and chicken haired Uchiha. Shikamaru just sighed as he woke up from his short nap. Sakura pouted.

"Well, it's not my fault! This guy here didn't wake up 'till I came!" Sasuke glared at her, and she glared back. "So the bastard made me wait!"

"Hn. I didn't make you wait…you just decided to," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, copying his pose.

"You troublesome people…let's just get to school."

"Hey, I thought you said he might not be coming…so _that's _why I have to walk to school with you!" Sakura yelled accusingly. Ino just shrugged it off.

"_Might_." Sakura rolled her eyes once _again_. Ino was making her do a lot of that this morning. As the four walked to school, the two boys stayed in the back while the girls walked in the front.

"So," Sakura whispered mischievously, making sure it was loud enough for Ino to hear yet soft enough so the boys wouldn't, "Do you like Shikamaru?" Ino blushed red.

"Argh! Me like him?" Ino whispered furiously. Sakura just giggled, but then Ino grinned. "What about you and Sasuke over there?" Sakura blushed this time.

"No! Of course not!"

"Whatever."

"Hey, how long to we have until school starts?" Ino glanced at her watch.

"Hm…about half an hour…" Sakura gaped at her.

"WHAT, INO-PIG? YOU WOKE ME UP _EARLY_? _THAT_ EARLY?!!" Ino just laughed nervously.

"Ehehe…yea. Oh look, we're at school!"

"Whoa!" the two girls exclaimed when they saw the school. The two boys just rolled their eyes. _What_ was so interesting?

The school had moved a wooden stage near the entrance. The gates were wide open and there was a big, colorful banner hung. It read: _Konoha High Sports Festival_. A small group of teachers and Tsunade were chatting secretly and excitedly. Other students that arrived early were dressed in gym uniforms and moving hurdles, tables, chairs, etc. to the field for the later events. This year, there was supposedly a special surprise for the first event.

"HI, SAKURA-CHYAAAN!!!" Naruto yelled, in his gym uniform.

"N-naruto? You came here pretty early…" Sakura said. Hinata popped out from behind him. Sakura waved. "Oh, hi, Hinata-chan!" Hinata gave a small smile and waved back. She, too, was in her gym uniform.

"Ha! Teme, I got here before you!"

"Hn."

"Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, I think you should go change. Tenten-chan is already there changing." Sakura and Ino nodded and made their way to the girls' changing room as the two guys were trying to get past the ever-hyper Naruto.

* * *

The two girls saw Tenten just as she was making her way through the door. She smiled a bright smile, brown eyes closed.

"Ohayo!" the two other girls returned the normal greeting. "So, are you excited?" Tenten asked as they were putting on their shirts. Sakura shrugged.

"We don't really know what the sports fest is like here…" Tenten laughed.

"Oh, yea! Well, I know for sure that last year Tsunade didn't host it! I don't think the year before that either…at least that's what the seniors this year said! One of my friends were like, 'Aw…damn it! I wanted to come to this year's!' So I suppose it'll be a bit different. It's lasting a little longer, too, I think." The other two girls finished changing, and the three began to walk down the hallway.

"Is that so?" Ino said, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She grinned. "Well, this'll be fun! Let's see…how much more time to kill?...Ten minutes! Argh, go faster!" The bun-haired girl laughed at her friends antics while Sakura just sighed, knowing _exactly_ how Ino felt. They had an empathy connection…somehow.

The girls walked out to the front of the school, and stopped where Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata were discussing possibilities of what the first event might be. Many of the first and second year students were around by now, if not all.

"Maybe it's a ramen eating contest!!!" Naruto exclaimed. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Naruto, there's already an eating contest normally," Neji said.

"Oh," Naruto replied half-heartedly.

"Naruto-kun…maybe it'll be ramen this year," Hinata said, trying to cheer Naruto up.

"I dou-" Sasuke began to say before Sakura clamped her hand over his mouth. He glared at her as she put her finger to her lips, signaling a, "Be quiet." Sasuke rolled his eyes, but shut up after Sakura took her hand off his mouth. Tsunade began to walk onto the stage as a blanket of silence covered the students.

"Hello, everyone!" Tsunade's voice boomed throughout the field. Cheers were heard. "Today, I am the host of the Konoha Sports Festival! There are new activities this year! I hope you all enjoy them! This will definitely be a different type of sports festival! Different from the normal!" She motioned to Kakashi.

"Some teachers will be playing too…" Kakashi, who was grinning under the mask, motioned to Kurenai, who had a sly smirk plastered on her face. Her red eyes scanned the crowd, a bright gleam showing in them.

"And we will see who actually has the qualities of a ninja, tested by none other than us!" Gasps and cheers were heard. Sakura was confused.

"**The qualities of a…ninja? What's with Konoha and ninjas?"**

"Some of you might be wondering why ninjas," Kakashi said, as he _was_ the history teacher. "Konoha has been the name of an old ninja village in the past…Konoha High was founded by the great, great, great, great-well you know what I mean- grandchildren of the founders of the nin village. For some reason, all the principals that have served, including Tsunade-sama, have a resemblance to ninjas…including some teachers." 'Oohs' and 'Ahs' were heard through the crowd.

"I wanna be a ninja!"

"Cool!"

"Wow, I hope I'm one!"

"Now, quiet down…" Tsunade ordered. The whispering and shouting stopped after a few moments. Tsunade grinned, looking at Sasuke in particular.

"**What did I do?"** Sasuke thought. Inner Sasuke shrugged.

"We have a special guest today…a former student of Konoha high. It has been _proven _that he has the qualities of a ninja…hopefully, his brother does too…" Tsunade continued. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. It _couldn't_ be…

"Uchiha Itachi, the elder brother of Uchiha Sasuke!" Itachi stood on stage grinning like a madman…well that's how it looked to Sasuke, who was twitching visibly in annoyance. Many girls had heart shaped eyes and began to scream, "Itachi-kun! Marry me!" "Itachi-kun, aishiteru!" "Itachi-kun! Go out with me!" etc.

"Itachi…" Sasuke growled. Of course, he didn't expect his brother to turn to him and actually hear what he was saying.

"Yes, otouto?" Itachi replied. Sasuke just shook his head, signaling he really didn't have anything to say.

"So, the contest will go on like this," Kurenai said.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Each team, which you've already gotten about a week ago, will be tested. Split into groups, and the maximum capacity is three. You will have to verse specific teachers, Tsunade-sama, and/or Itachi-san. Each of us will possess a blue ribbon, which you will have to try to steal. Check your pockets now." Everyone dug into their short pockets and pulled out a purple ribbon. "These, the purple ribbons, are for students. We can steal them from you during battle as well. Whichever three-man cell gets the most ribbons gets ten points for their team. If there are multiple winners, each group will get ten points. It is possible for a teacher, Itachi, or me to win this competition. In that case, no team will be distributed any points. Hatake Kakashi and the Uchiha brothers are not allowed to use their sharingan to trap the victim in a powerful genjutsu, or illusionary techn-"

"Tsunade-sama, is that really necessary? It takes some fun out of this, don't you think so, Kakashi?" Itachi interrupted. Kakashi grinned and nodded in agreement as Tsunade scowled.

"I'm allowing you to use mild genjutsu…same goes for you, Kurenai. Asuma…you don't usually use genjutsu. Just make sure you guys don't inflict too much pain on the students. I don't want to see too many students wounded….Oh, by the way, if you happen to be wounded, return here and Shizune will be here for sure to treat you. I might be here if you're lucky. You can also find, Haruno Sakura…she's not hard to miss, with pink hair…" Sakura blushed.

"B-but, I'm not nearly as good as or Shizune-sama." Tsunade gave her a soft smile.

"You'll do fine, just use the healing jutsus and the things I taught you…So, you may go to Sakura to get your wounds treated. She has been able to manipulate chakra, so she is also one of the definite ninja in here. Get into your cells! Remember, only three per group, and they _must_ be from your team! You are not allowed off campus, though the campus is very big anyway! Bye!" 'Poof' A number of teachers, Tsunade, and Itachi disappeared. The remaining teachers just seated themselves in chairs and began to talk with each other, read the newspaper or a novel, or grade some papers. The groups were quickly formed, having Shikamaru do all the "troublesome" work. He sighed.

"I guess we'll just go with the formations from history class." The twelve nodded, each group gathering and leaving, remembering to go to Tsunade to collect kunai and shuriken. The other groups were left to decide on their own.

* * *

_Team 7…_

"I can't believe that Itachi…" Sasuke hissed under his breath. Sakura sighed.

"Itachi isn't _that_ bad of a person…" Sasuke glared at her.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! You're a medic nin! Isn't it great we have a medic, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked.

"Aa…" Sasuke replied. "We don't have to go through the trouble…" Sakura nodded.

"But if I run out of chakra…I can't exactly do anything." The two boys nodded in understanding. "So, what techniques can you guys do…I'm sure you guys have been learning from _someone_."

"Aa…but I honestly think you got the most _normal_ mentor…" Sasuke said. Sakura tilted her head.

"Why?"

"I got the snake bastard, Orochimaru, and Naruto got the pervert beyond Kakashi, Jiraiya. That's what I mean by _normal_."

"Teme's right. Tsunade-obaa-chan is the most normal!" Sakura snorted.

"Yea, right. She loves to gamble and drink sake, plus she has a _very_ bad temper. You do _not_ want to see her angry."

"Like you, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke stared wide-eyed at his stupid and idiotic best friend. No way in _hell_ did he just say that.

"NARUTO!!!" Sakura began to go for him when she sensed Kakashi. "Come out, Kakashi-sensei. We know you're here!" Kakashi appeared with his porn book, grinning underneath his mask.

"Uhm…nice job…"

* * *

_Team 8…_

"Hinata…how's it going?" Kiba asked, Akamaru barking, asking the same question. Hinata smiled warmly.

"It's been f-fine…and you guys?" Kiba shrugged.

"I guess it's been okay…we didn't really talk since that first gym class…which was a _long_ time ago…" Kiba said. Hinata and Shino nodded.

"G-gomen…I've just been with t-them for a while, so I'm p-pretty accustomed to s-staying with them…" Hinata said. Shino nodded slightly.

"We understand, Hinata…" A few moments of silence passed.

"Have you noticed all our abilities are tracking abilities?" Kiba put in suddenly. Both Hinata and Shino were a bit surprised. Who knew Inuzuka Kiba actually _observed_ this kind of stuff? Sometimes, he was almost as dense as Naruto, who was, as everyone knows, pretty darn dense.

As the three continued to walk with the warm summer sun beating down on them, the leaves suddenly began to swirl around them, acting as sharp blades that began to cut their skin. Akamaru began to bark, distressed at the smell of his owners crimson blood. The three got into a defensive stance, pulling out their kunai, with the seemingly small and alarmed dog by their side.

"We're trapped in genjutsu," Shino stated curtly. Some leaves began to assemble to show, Kurenai, their science teacher. The corners of her lips quirked upwards to form a sly smirk.

"Well done. You are indeed trapped in my genjutsu. Now, let's see if you three can get out."

* * *

_Team 10…_

"Why is it so hot today?!" Ino complained. Shikamaru shrugged Ino's question off and began to look at the sunny sky.

"Maybe because it's summer…" Chouji suggested. Ino rolled her eyes.

"No duh. Why don't you go ahead and point out the obvious," Ino seethed with sarcasm.

"Okay…well the sky is blue, the grass is green, the tree bark is brown, your gym uniform has some red with the white-"

"I meant sarcastically!!!" Ino yelled. Chouji looked at her.

"Well you didn't tell me…" Ino just sighed in exasperation. Of all people she was stuck with a constant snacker and a lazy ass. _And_ she was on a diet. She was becoming ravenous, and dearly wanted Chouji's snacks. She would wistfully glance at them when nobody was looking.

"**No, Ino! Stay strong!" **Ino told herself. The trio strolled in silence, not completely sure of what to do _but_ walk.

Chouji was happily snacking on BBQ flavored chips, as usual, while Shikamaru was brooding over the fact that the sky _had_ to be cloudless on the very boring, and most of all, _troublesome_ day. He continued to stare at the infinite blueness, almost as if he was praying to Kami-sama that white puffs would begin to appear. Apparently, god decided to grant him his prayer, and out of nowhere, white puffs _did_ begin to appear. Shikamaru almost sighed in relief…at least, that was until he inhaled the sharp scent of smoke. He turned to his side to find Asuma smoking his life away. The three stopped in their tracks when Shikamaru turned, Chouji gulping down the last and sacred chip.

"Hi, Asuma-sensei!" Chouji greeted, totally oblivious to what _really _was happening. Asuma lifted his head and pulled out knuckle blades. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

"Hello, you brats. I hope you enjoy this."

"Listen to every word I say," Shikamaru hissed to his teammates as they pulled out kunai, bending their knees and raising their blades protectively in front of their chest. "This is vital information I'm going to give you…that is unless Ino would like to see her best friend for treatment soon…"

* * *

_Team Gai…_

Tenten sighed. "This is _so_ boring." Neji just walked on, almost ignoring Tenten's statement, but choosing to shrug instead, signaling he heard her remark. Lee stopped, getting ready to give his "youth" speech, whereas both Tenten and Neji sighed. They heard this _too_ much. All they ever did was get assigned to Lee.

"THE LOTUS OF YOUTH WILL STILL BLOOM, EVEN WHEN THE TIMES ARE FILLED WITH BOREDOM! YOUTH IS WHAT MAKES THE WORLD SPIN, AND WE ALL POSSESS IT! EVEN THE OLDEST OF THE ELDERLY! SO, TENTEN-CHAN, YOUR STATEMENT IS FALSE! YOUTH WILL ALWAYS MAKE THE WORLD UN-BORING, SO IT IS NOT BORING! WE ARE JUST WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO ACT!" Lee exclaimed. Tenten and Neji sweat dropped. Lee _definitely_ just contradicted himself on boredom.

"Urm…Lee, that didn't make much sense…" Tenten began to say, but the sunset background popped up, a sign that they had surely lost the sane Lee…though they wouldn't really consider him sane.

"Hn. Let's just leave him here…I'm sure he'll catch up sooner or later," Neji stated, beginning to walk away.

"Urm…okay. Chotto matte!" Tenten ran to Neji, glancing at Lee for a moment after she began to slow her pace. Lee was still standing, sparkly eyed with shiny teeth aligned in a blinding grin. The sun seemed to be setting behind him as his left foot was perched on top of a rock. He was staring at the sky diagonally, looking at nothing in particular. Tenten turned around and began to walk again, but she felt troubled and turned back to Lee. He was still in the same pose and Tenten twitched in annoyance. This seemed to be going _too _far now. Was he going to really stay there forever, with bow-cut hair and thick eyebrows. Tenten was more or less a tomboy, but _really_, even some of _her_ girl fashion senses would kick in, and they were no doubt saying that Lee needed a makeover. Soon. By extremely experiences professionals. Even if they were out of the country. Neji seemed to sense Tenten stop once more and turned around to see her eye twitching constantly, her fingers digging into her palm, and teeth gritting against teeth. She sighed and counted to ten before turning away and continuing to walk.

"**Probably that anger management I sent her to…I guess it actually **_**did**_** help…now, who would be good for that Uchiha?..."** Neji thought. A list of people popped up, with Neji mentally trying to figure out who would actually stand up to _the_ Uchiha Sasuke. People began to be taken off. **"Now h-"**

"WAIT RIGHT THERE! I DON'T MEAN TO QUOTE MY RIVAL, BUT HOW COULD YOU ABANDON YOUR TEAMMATE?! ESPECIALLY ROCK LEE?!" Tenten and Neji turned slowly as Lee snapped out of his "youthful" pose. "HE WAS JUST TRYING TO BE YOUTHFUL!" Tenten began to crack her knuckles.

"If he was _really_ being youthful, he would've gotten his big ass over here by now…" Tenten growled lowly, so low that only Neji could really here her. He smirked, trying to make sure he didn't chuckle at her disrespectful yet true remark.

"BUT I AM ACTUALLY HERE TO FIGHT YOU!" Tenten grinned, swiping out eight kunai, one between each finger, crossing her arms.

"All ready figured that out."

* * *

_Team 7…_

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were hiding in the bushes, trying to find the right time to initiate their plan. Kakashi was calmly standing the very center of the grassy field, reading Icha Icha Paradise. A light, refreshing wind blew as the leaves rustled and the grass danced. The silver-haired man acted as if there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

"_Test his abilities before you attack," Sakura said. "Wait to see what type of reflex he'll have after an attack. If he will jump, duck, block, or attack as well. See which sides he will move to. Observe his technique and fighting style, but keep your guard up. Find his openings and weaknesses. I already have a plan…"_ Sasuke and Naruto remembered what Sakura said. Naruto jumped out of the bushes and pretended to attack Kakashi alone.

"_He's big on teamwork," Sasuke remarked, obsidian eyes looking into Naruto and Sakura's lighter ones. "He'll think you're an idiot if you go alone…"_ Naruto pulled his hand back, ready to "punch" Kakashi. Kakashi quickly took a hold of Naruto's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. Naruto was almost caught in the trap, but from Sasuke he learned to anticipate this, and quickly pumped energy into his legs. He did a quick back flip that forced Kakashi to release his wrist. While he was landing, Kakashi took the chance to land a blow on Naruto. Naruto fell to the ground and winced slightly. He quickly stood up.

"You're not going to beat me, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. Naruto began to punch Kakashi again, whereas the teacher jumped up into the air. Kakashi landed and hit Naruto hard, so that the blond boy flew into the forest.

"_Once Naruto's done, you go, Sasuke," Sakura said. _Sasuke jumped out from his hiding place, whipping a kunai out. 'Clang' The sound of metal hitting metal was heard as Kakashi's kunai clanked against Sasuke's. The two were in a heated battle, trying to push each kunai into the other. After a moment, Sasuke jumped back a little, breaking the contact, but began to throw a few more kunai almost instantaneously. Kakashi sensed this and knocked them down with his kunai, but Sasuke was already doing other things. The raven haired teenager was forming quick hand symbols; the ones Kakashi had taught him long ago.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke spit out a fireball, almost hitting Kakashi, who jumped in response, pulling out another kunai in the process.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…these three don't know teamwork at all…" Just when Kakashi was about to land, he felt a fist connect with his chin as the he began to slash blindly below. Naruto came jumping out of the earth, half injured from Kakashi's kunai. The blue-eyed student, though, managed to punch Kakashi into the air. Kakashi was about to just flip and land, but unexpectedly, Sakura came from behind and punched him into the ground. Afterward, she whipped out eight kunai and sent them raining on Kakashi.

"How's _that_ for teamwork, Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura yelled. Kakashi grinned. He had underestimated his students and let his guard down. Maybe if he had been a bit more serious, he could've won the battle. Sasuke quickly snatched the blue ribbon from Kakashi and the three ran off. Kakashi sighed as he hit the ground, Sakura's kunai around him.

"I just wish I was more serious…Well, there's more to go…Maybe I'll stay here for a bit…" Moments later, as Sakura was healing any wounds, the three could hear suspicious giggling from Kakashi's direction, making them roll their eyes.

"Pervert."

* * *

_Team 8…_

"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled, veins appearing around her eyes. She scanned the tunnel of leaves around them, trying to see if there was a way to break through, even if it was a genjutsu. She saw lots of chakra waves, guessing it was Kurenai. It moved around swiftly, almost unnoticeable, or seemingly everywhere. **"This is bad…how do we get out of here?"** Shino was already beginning to release insects, trying to make them nibble on the leaves and perhaps destroy them, but it was no use. Next, the bugs began to feed on the chakra that was flowing around, which happened to work, because a small yet surprised screech. Shino stayed emotionless, however. The haze began to fade a bit, but once the coast seemed to be clear, the genjutsu swept upon the three students once again. Just then, Hinata had a crazy idea.

"G-guys…l-listen…" the two turned to her. "W-we need to w-walk into the leaves…" This cause raised eyebrows from both of them.

"I think if w-we do that…the p-pain will r-release us from the g-genjutsu…" Both paused before nodding. They walked through the leaves, surprising Kurenai very much. The pain was almost unbearable, because they later found the leaves to be shuriken in real life. They escaped with many deep gashes, and the acrid, metallic smell of blood filled the air. Kurenai winced.

"**I didn't think they'd do **_**that**_**."** The students, despite their wounds, stood up and began to fight Kurenai, who was, in fact, right in front of them. She was already panting, because she used a great amount of energy from using the genjutsu. The three ran towards her at once and began to slash using their kunai. Kurenai whipped out her own and began to block her students' quick moves. 'Clang' 'Clang' 'Clang'

The students suddenly jumped back and fled. **"Nani?!" **Kurenai thought as she watched their retreating backs. She put her kunai back in her pouch and turned around to leave. As she put her hand to her side, she felt her pocket was empty. Her blue ribbon had disappeared. **"When did they…?"**

Farther away, the team was sitting down, resting before they made their way to Shizune. Kiba patted Akamaru, who had a blue ribbon in his mouth. Akamaru barked happily as Kiba grinned. "Good job, Akamaru!"

* * *

_Team 10…_

The team had positioned themselves around Asuma in a triangle. All four were ready for attack, with Asuma possibly having a more powerful weapon. All of a sudden, Shikamaru charged at Asuma, who was facing him. Their weapons clanked, metal against metal.

"Now, Ino!" Before Asuma could react, Ino fell unconscious and was in Asuma's head, controlling him. She could enter somebody's mind and not control them, which was the only case where she wouldn't fall unconscious. Now, with Ino in control of Asuma's body, Chouji grabbed the blue ribbon. Ino broke out of the jutsu.

As Asuma was trying to get back up, Ino ran past him and cut his cigarette, lighting the grass on fire. If it was Sasuke there, he could've katon-ified Asuma _and_ the forest using the cigarette as a base, but for now, the cigarette was going to light a smaller fire. The wind quickly carried the flames to all around Asuma, the grass lighting around him. Since there were no clouds, Shikamaru caught him in his shadow, and forced Asuma to stay as his teammates fled. After he thought the fire grew enough to stall Asuma from coming, he released his jutsu and fled as well.

Asuma just plopped himself on the grass and used the fire to light another cigarette before jumping out and using a quick suiton jutsu to put it out. He leaned on the bark of a tree and took a puff of smoke. "Well…that could've gone better…I wonder what happened to Kakashi and Kurenai…" Out of nowhere, suspicious giggling was heard. Asuma sighed. "Okay, that's Kakashi…I wonder about Gai…"

"BUT I AM ACTUALLY HERE TO FIGHT YOU!" Asuma once again sighed.

"It seems Kurenai and I are the most normal…"

* * *

_Team Gai…_

"Gai-sensei! Tenten-chan, you can't attack him!" Lee cried.

"This is a fighting event, Lee. I _am_ going to attack him, and you can't stop me…" Tenten snarled. She threw the kunai, which Gai was about to block, when they started moving and wrapping around him. The clear string glinted in the sunlight. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"**So that's what she did…"** Gai was bound in the very strong string. Lee was too frozen to attack.

"THINK OF THIS AS A SPARRING MATCH, LEE!" Lee quickly snapped out and began to attack Gai as he was in the string.

"Gomen nasai, Gai-sensei…" Lee said. Gai grinned and gave him a thumbs up. He quickly broke out of the string and turned around. Tenten narrowed her eyes pulling out some more kunai as her other ones clanked onto the ground. Gai began to move very fast around them, but Neji had activated byakugan, and was able to more or less track his position.

"Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten!" Neji said. He began to release chakra around them, and Gai was hit. Lee quickly grabbed the ribbon and the three ran off, with Tenten securing Gai in ropes again.

* * *

_Where the four teams meet up…_

"Sakura-san!" Lee cried as he saw the bit of pink hair. Said girl turned her head as she was healing Hinata, Shino, and Kiba.

"Hi, Lee-san." She went back to her work.

"Yo, Sakura. Ino's a bit scratched up I think. Asuma's troublesome cigarette burned her or something…" Shikamaru said, walking into the clearing. Sakura sighed.

"Come over then, porky." Ino growled but went over. When Sakura saw the burn on Ino's hand, she quickly healed it. "Argh…any more wounds?" Everyone shook their heads. "Each team has ribbons, right?" They nodded. "Just one, huh?" Another nod. "Might as well get back…"

"Ah, I finally found you, otouto!" Sasuke turned his head.

"Itachi." Itachi ran over and tackled his little brother, who was trying to punch him off. "Get off!" The others laughed at the brothers. Itachi got up.

"It seems you weren't the one holding the ribbon…" he stated. Sasuke shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"And you better not go and tackle Sakura for that." Itachi chuckled.

"A bit overprotective, eh?"

"It's nothing of the sort." Itachi shrugged.

"Well…do you guys want to fight me, or do you want me to stay?"

"Leave," they all said. Itachi grinned and left in a puff of smoke.

"Teme, your brother's weird." Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"Just go and point out the obvious."

"Well, he's pretty nice…" Tenten reasoned.

"More like annoying."

"Urm…we should be getting to the middle now, ne?" Sakura said. "It's almost lunch, and the other activities will start after lunch..." The others nodded, and they ran toward the direction of the school gates.

* * *

_At the school gates…_

"Okay, everyone. We will now see which teachers got ribbons! Kakashi?" Kakashi stepped up and looked.

"I was lost in my novel. Sorry about that." Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Kurenai?" She stepped up, biting her lip.

"Trying to reason on how I lost…" Tsunade sighed.

"Asuma? Please don't tell me you were too busy smoking."

"Then I won't."

"Okay, Itachi, you're the last one…" Itachi smirked and pulled out 16 ribbons. Tsunade stared at him and he shrugged.

"I got the easy ones, and my brother wouldn't let me tackle a certain person, otherwise, it might have been 17…" Sasuke growled.

"Oh…okay…anyone have more ribbons than Itachi? I only got 9…" Everyone grumbled. "Okay, Itachi is the winner, and no points will be distributed, now time for lunch! Congratulations to Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Aizawa Kaede, and Suiton Kasumi for getting ribbons!" Everyone cheered; they were all hungry. Kasumi waved to Sakura, a ribbon in her hand, with the brunette that taunted Sakura during the preparation.

**"So her name's Kaede..."**

"Afterwards, the upcoming events will start!" Tsunade exclaimed, snapping Sakura out of her thoughts.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview**: The Sports Festival Part 2: More Normal Events? Wait! These Aren't Normal!

"Time for the next events!" Tsunade yelled. "And if I say so myself, these aren't as fun…More normal if you ask me…" Everyone walked to the field in the back to find what seemed to be a _very_ intricate obstacle course. The thing was, it was concealed in walls.

"Welcome to the Konoha Labyrinth!"

* * *

A/N: A longer chappie! Yay! Well, if you haven't read my profile page, I changed the update date for this fanfic into Saturday. "From Orphans to Thieves" will be Sunday, though I think it'll be late this week, unless I do some serious work. The next chapter will be a _bit_ more normal, but as you know, Konoha High isn't normal. So, there will be a maze, but upcoming events will be normal, I assure you.

I'm really sorry that I made this chapter a bit too ninja like. Gomen about that. xD I just couldn't help myself. Sorry for those who actually wanted Itachi/Tsunade to make an appearance in battle! I also apologize if I made the sensei too easy to beat! Thanks for all your support!

Kikoru x3


	11. Chapter XI: The Sports Festival Part 2

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XI: The Sports Festival Part 2: More Normal Events? Wait! These Aren't Normal! Or Are They?

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: Argh, started this late, and updated late. I suck, ne? xD I'm sorry. Gomen, gomen. But it's here.

* * *

Everyone settled down to eat lunch. The ate sat where they usually ate, under the cherry blossom tree (there were only some green leaves left, the flowers fell already), with Chouji, Shino, Lee, and Kiba joining them.

"So…that was…interesting," Tenten said, deciding to break the silence. She was expecting to start a conversation, but there were only murmurs of agreement and Uchiha Sasuke/Hyuuga Neji language. Everyone began to eat food.

"Can we talk?!" Tenten exclaimed angrily.

"Sure," Sakura said, now occupied with blowing a piece of astray hair. Sasuke began to twitch in annoyance when Sakura wouldn't move the piece of pink hair away. Sasuke sighed and pulled her hair back. "Urm…arigatou, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, not really sure what to say.

"Hn. It was getting annoying."

"**Aw…Sakura's so lucky…"** Tenten thought. **"He actually likes her...Kawaii desu!" **

"**Muahahaha! I knew Sasuke liked her!" **Ino exclaimed in her mind.

"Time for the next events!" Tsunade yelled, breaking the silence. "And if I say so myself, these aren't as fun…More normal if you ask me…" Everyone packed up their bentos, for exception of the ones who didn't bring, and walked to the field in the back to find what seemed to be a _very_ intricate obstacle course. The thing was, it was concealed in walls.

"Welcome to the Konoha Labyrinth!" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"_**This**_** is normal? Freaky…"**

'Dear, dear, Sakura-chan, this school was _made_ freaky,' inner Sakura remarked.

* * *

"Everyone, you will have to do this in pairs," Tsunade said. Many began to say "whatever". A grin spread on Tsunade and Kurenai's face.

"_But_, they will be your science partners." Groans were heard.

"But I wanted to be with Sasuke-kun!"

"So did I!"

"Me, too!"

"Sasuke-kun, don't leave me!" Both Sakura and Sasuke rolled their eyes.

"Stupid fangirls," both of them mumbled. They glared at each other.

"Stop copying me."

"No, _you_ stop."

"Shut up!" Sakura said, turning away, and crossing her arms. Sasuke sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

"Hn." Many sweat dropped at what happened, except the fangirls, who were growling. How _dare_ she tell _their_ Uchiha Sasuke to shut up?! The other Uchiha brother, Itachi, couldn't help but start to chuckle.

"Well," Tsunade said, trying to get the attention back to her, "There will be no obstacles really. Just have to find a way to get out. Whoever gets out first will get 10 points for their team! Begin!" Everyone jumped. Talk about an unexpected beginning.

"C'mon, Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, dragging Hinata with him.

"H-Hai!"

"Shika-kun! We can't fall behind!" Ino dragged Shikamaru in.

"Talk about hyperactive blonds," Sakura said. Tenten nodded. "But I think we should get going, too." The two girls walked off with their stoic partners.

* * *

_Naruto and Hinata_

"So, what do we do, Hinata-chan?" Naruto said, sitting on the grassy ground, cross-legged, trying to think. He did, but sadly it was of ramen. "Eat ramen?"

"Um…Naruto-kun, I think we could do that another time…" Hinata answered, deep in thought.

"So, maybe Friday?" Naruto asked. "After school?" Hinata squeaked. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I'll just drag teme along with me."

"Iie! I-I'll go!" Hinata stammered loudly, face flushed. Naruto grinned happily.

"Yay! And, Hinata-chan, I have an idea!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "We can use your byakugan! Dattebayo!" Hinata stared at him, surprised he could actually think of this while she couldn't. Her surprise turned into happiness, however. She activated her byakugan and began searching.

"An exit!" Hinata cried.

"Yatta!" The two ran towards the exit.

* * *

_Neji and Tenten_

In a different path, these two weren't using a method much different from Naruto and Hinata's. Of course, it took a bit more effort and time, but it still involved the Hyuuga tactics.

Tenten was flinging a number of weapons at the supposedly thin walls. She actually managed to break some. She began to pant.

"Bastard…You can at least help!" Tenten complained. Neji shrugged.

"I'm using the byakugan to see what walls to demolish. I _am_ helping."

"Whatever! Can't you do that blue, spinny thing and everything shoots out when I throw stuff at you?" Neji thought for a moment.

"Actually, that may work." Neji did the said move as Tenten threw various objects at in. In an instant, many walls around them were destroyed.

"Yatta!" Tenten exclaimed, hugging Neji, who coincidentally turned a tint of red.

* * *

_Shikamaru and Ino_

"How are we going to do this?" Ino said, clearly frustrated.

"Troublesome. Can you just shut up for now? I'm trying to think of a troublesome plan," Shikamaru replied, almost hissing. His hands were in a strange formation and he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyebrows furrowed and all. Ino crossed her arms, but she stayed quiet until she heard the slapping sound of Shikamaru's hand connecting with his forehead.

"How could I be so stupid? This troublesome woman's getting to my head," Shikamaru muttered, low enough for Ino not to hear. He _really_ didn't want more torture. "Ino, we just have to climb to the top of the wall and balance," Shikamaru instructed. Ino stared at him, trying to decide if her partner had become a mad scientist or if he was just plain crazy.

"Are you crazy?!" Apparently, she decided on crazy. I mean, he never did much of the work in science, he just told her what to do.

"No, because you actually have good balance. If I remember correctly, when I was looking through the troublesome files, Yamanaka Ino actually was the _captain _of the _cheerleading_ team in junior high." Ino's face flushed while Shikamaru's adorned a lazy smirk.

"Whatever." They both jumped high and the two managed to balance. The wall was actually very thick and easy to walk on. So easy that it was easy to _run_. So run they did.

* * *

_Sasuke and Sakura_

"What do we do?" Sakura asked, pacing around. Sasuke just shook his head at the obvious plan in his head, but he let Sakura ramble. "What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." Sakura pouted. Oh, yes, this Uchiha loved to aggravate her.

"No really…"

"Hn."

"Is that all you can say?!"

"Aa…"

"Will you stop it?!" Sakura said, ready to punch Sasuke, who raised an eyebrow.

"Instead of punching me, why don't you punch the walls?" Sasuke said. Sakura stared. And stared. And stared.

"Oh….right…" Sakura began to demolish the walls, meeting many frightened people along the way. Now they were getting somewhere.

* * *

_Finish line_

"Who do you think will win, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked. Kakashi shrugged and continued his "mature reading". Tsunade twitched. "You better an-"

"Oh, look. Here they come," Kakashi stated, not even looking up from his book.

"It's you guys…again," Tsunade deadpanned, frowning slightly. Ino and Shikamaru jumped down from the walls. Some grinned, some smirked, one smiled nervously. "Well, we'll have to bring down the walls."

'Click' With the push of a button, all the walls slid downwards, into the ground, before they were camouflaged. Tsunade scowled. She noticed that too many to be a few walls were severely damaged. Less sake for her, more money for school repairs. She really needed to get the school renovated over the summer, or maybe winter before the next school year started…

Screams were heard from some students. How would you feel if all the walls suddenly dropped into the ground? Especially if you decided to lean on it.

"The winners of this race are these eight. Class 1-3 and 2-1 get 40 points," Tsunade drawled, almost bored. Actually, she _was_ bored. Really, this was no fun. Cheers from those two classes were loud. "Now, it's the normal races. In groups of eight."

"Well, pretty normal. The first one will be explained here," Itachi said, pointing to two tables at the very front of the race. Papers were face down. "Each team will send one member to the table, and they have to take one piece of paper. They all have the same thing, so basically, you might have to wait, slowing your team down."

"After that, you go over there," Kurenai said, pointing to the two tables about 30 meters away. There were bowls of ramen on it. "This is ramen eating. After the person has fulfilled their turn with the first event, they must go to their team and tag a person. After they eat three bowls of different flavored ramen, they must go back to their team."

"See, I told you not to doubt it! There _is_ a ramen eating contest!" Sakura whispered smugly. Sasuke scowled.

"Hn."

"Hinata-chyaaan! You were right!" Naruto exclaimed, giving Hinata a big bear hug. Hinata was speechless. She herself didn't think that was going to happen.

"Then, we're going to do a riddle. Send a person to us. Whoever from a group of people gets it first will go, and we will send them back to pick somebody for the next station," Kakashi said.

"The next station, you brats, is a 100 meter dash. After that, it's archery. You must shoot 10 arrows right on bulls eye. That's the end…oh, wait, there's a synchronized swimming competition. Also, there will be a quick swimming race in freestyle, and we'll finish the day with a water relay. Understood?" Tsunade said.

"Hai!" the students chorused.

"Now, begin!"

"Go, Sakura!" Ino said, pushing her friend out.

"Okay, okay!" Sakura ran to the table and took one slip of paper.

"A person with red eyes?!" everyone exclaimed when they read it.

"Shit," the Uchiha brothers said. They turned to each other. "Don't activate the sharingan." They nodded. All the fangirls immediately headed towards them however.

"Sasuke-kun, come with me!"

"Me, Itachi-kun! Me!"

"I know your eyes are red…they make you look _so_ much sexier. Do it for me?" a girl said, trying to imitate a seductive tone, though to the brothers it sounded like nails against a chalkboard.

Sakura sighed. No way was she going for the Uchihas. She decided to get Kakashi-sensei, who nobody really knew about. She ran to her perverted teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei! Can you come with me?" Sakura asked sweetly. Kakashi looked up from his book.

"How'd you know? I didn't expect anyone to pick me," Kakashi said, grinning sheepishly beneath his mask. She brought him to the table, and he lifted his mask a bit, just so his eye was revealed. Tsunade smiled.

"Wonderful thinking. You're the first to move on." A boy from another class brought Kurenai with him, to which Tsunade approved of. Sakura ran quickly to Naruto, and when she pushed him out, she heard the boy from the other class swear. There was no doubt Naruto was going to win that race.

By now, the fangirls gave up on Itachi and Sasuke, who refused every single time and wouldn't activate their sharingan. They were trying now to get Kurenai, for nobody knew much about Kakashi at all.

"Go, Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Hinata was silently cheering him on.

"**I hope you win, Naruto-kun!"** Naruto ran to the table and Jiraiya, the vice principal and health teacher-not to mention pervert-, pushed a bowl of miso ramen toward him. Naruto happily broke his chopsticks and said a quick and muffled, "Itadakimasu!" before slurping the ramen quickly. He quickly finished the soup up.

Next was spicy beef ramen. Naruto, also finished that, nearly burning his throat from gulping down the red tinted soup a little too quickly.

"HOOOOOOOT!" Naruto yelled. "Ow!" He just caused more damage in his throat. Some others were already getting very red in the face, and were trying not to spit out all the ramen. At least Naruto already finished it.

"Calm down, kiddo. The last one should help you a bit," Jiraiya said, pushing a bowl of normal, plain ramen with some chicken broth. Definitely soothing, at least to Naruto. He finished it in a flash, and quickly ran to the other team.

"Lazy ass, you go! It's thinking…but I don't see how this relates to sports at all…" Shikamaru nodded and sauntered toward to where Kakashi was. The two men waited for a few others to join them before Kakashi started the riddle, smirking evilly beneath the mask.

"Okay, everyone. I will only say this once, and only once. Now, there are only six people that can get in a round house, the two owners, the gardener, the butcher, the maid, and the cook. One day, both owners were murdered, and since there were only four others that could get in, the police interrogated each of them.

"The police asked each of them where they were at the time of the murder. The gardener said, 'It couldn't have been me. I was outside watering the flowers.' The butcher said, 'It couldn't have been me. I was chopping the chicken for dinner.' The maid said, 'It couldn't have been me. I was cleaning the corner.' Lastly, the cook said, 'It couldn't have been me. I was cooking dinner.'

"Who was the real murderer? I'll give you five minutes before I ask for the answer and switch riddles. If anyone gets before that, then I'll have to switch a riddle once they leave." Mumbling was heard before Shikamaru decided to break the whispering, knowing the answer from the start.

"It was obviously the troublesome maid," Shikamaru stated. Kakashi looked at him skeptically. I mean, the boy could have gotten a lucky guess.

"How so?"

"She said she was cleaning a _corner_ in the _round_ house. Round things don't have corners." Kakashi grinned.

"Good job, Shikamaru. You may leave," Kakashi said. Shikamaru strolled toward the team. In the distance, Kakashi was reciting the next, and rather easy, riddle. "If you go from the first floor to the fourth floor in an elevator, it takes one minute without stopping. In the same building and elevator, however, when you come down, it took four minutes without stopping on the elevator. Why is that?" More mumbling was heard as Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"The guy obviously decided to stay on the fourth floor for a while," Shikamaru said lowly, so nobody would hear. Anyway, he almost arrived where their team was standing. "Yo, Sasuke, your turn…" Sasuke was already on his way, however. It seemed another boy was already half-way through, trying to taunt the speedy Uchiha.

"Hah, a chicken-hair like you can't catch up?" the boy yelled. Sasuke smirked before actually passing the boy. The boy stared at him wide-eyed.

"W-what?!"

"Che. Idiot." When Sasuke crossed the finish line, Tenten went to archery. Meanwhile, the others were getting into their swimming suits. Tenten walked over to the targets confidently. She took a bow, inspected it, and tried it without the arrow.

"**Pretty good…"** Tenten took an arrow. **"Concentrate…concentrate…"**

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh'

'Whoosh' All of the ten arrows hit bulls eye. Some arrows even became split. Cheering was heard.

"Whooo! Go, Tenten! Now you have to get changed for swimming!" Sakura and Ino called. Tenten nodded and ran. Soon after, everyone was finished with the race, panting and scowling.

"Well, these eight win _again_. Well, just the first part. We'll see the others. Okay, next up is synchronized swimming! We'll give you twenty minutes to think of a routine!" Tsunade announced. Sakura gasped.

"Is that enough time for you guys?" Sakura asked Ino and Hinata. They nodded confidently before huddling. After twenty minutes of quiet discussion, the two girls stepped back and smiled. In an…how would you say it? Evil. Yes, Hinata, innocent Hinata-chan, was smiling _evilly_. Now, Ino, we can all believe. Right?

"Who would like to go first?" Tsunade asked. Nobody dare raised their hands, all praying that somebody would raise their hands. All except Ino and Hinata. Both of them started their routine, without any music and extras. They dived off the diving board and twisted perfectly. They spun with so much force that when they slipped into the cool water, the liquid began to spin in a beautiful way. They came back up, sprinkling water everywhere, so that it shone in the sunlight.

They began to swim, criss-crossing each other and such. Once, they even managed to do a beautiful spin in the air. Their form was graceful, and loud cheering was heard soon after the routine.

"That was amazing!" Sakura exclaimed when the two came back. The next routines went on, but most of it was just swimming. The diving in some of them weren't great coughcoughhorriblecoughcough, and some groups backed out at last minute, unsure of their abilities.

"The points are counted!" Tsunade announced after much discussion with Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. "The winner is……Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata." Tsunade didn't sound excited at all, as if she knew it was going to happen. Class 1-3 and 2-1 were in first place, though other groups had won second, giving them high scores as well. Only a few classes were left with no points.

"Now, it's time for the swimming race. Swimmers, please get ready. You'll be swimming freestyle today. Swim to the other side of the wall, tap the wall, do a spin, and swim right on back," Tsunade explained after the cheering had died down. Neji took his position. "Ready. Set. Go!" The swimmers dived in, all of them swimming quickly. At first, three came in the front, Neji and two other second years.

Afterwards, one of them shot forward unexpectedly. Neji and the other boy were still at the same pace. Though the other boy was struggling to catch up, Neji stayed calm and kept his pace.

"What the hell is he doing?" Tenten hissed under her breath. Ino shrugged.

"I think he's not going to let them beat him. He's not really that type of person. If you ask me, he's kinda like Sasuke, 'cept he's a lot less cold hearted…" Ino whispered.

Tenten clenched her fist. Everyone else had worked quite hard-even Naruto, though he enjoyed it-to win their races. They were already in first, but truthfully, if they lost this swimming race, the other team, class 1-1 and 2-4, were going to catch up to them. They would only be winning by one point, and if that happened, the whole sports festival could go to the other team. They'd have to end up in second place, which Tenten thought would be a little disappointing after all they did.

"**That bastard better not mess this up for us."** Neji was still in second, now ahead of the boy he was first at the same pace as. The boy in first began to slow down, almost thinking that his victory was definite. At the last two meters, Neji shot forward quickly and finished the race in first, leaving the other boy dumbfounded.

Neji smirked. "You should watch more carefully next time." He got out of the pool as Shikamaru tossed him a dry, white towel. "Thanks." Shikamaru nodded slightly in reply, staring at the sky, once again cursing the heavens for not sending white fluffs across the blueness. Truthfully, it was becoming too blue for Shikamaru's liking.

Tenten sighed in relief. "I thought you were going to screw that up for us!" she admitted to Neji, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Why would I do that?" Tenten began to laugh.

"You're right, Ino. He really _is_ like Sasuke!"

"I'm not anything like that Uchiha/Hyuuga," both boys said, glaring at each other and the two girls. The others sweat dropped. They just unknowingly contradicted themselves. "Hn." Once again, they contradicted themselves.

"Neji-niisan, Sasuke-san, I don't think it's time to fight. We need to do the water relay," Hinata explained calmly. "If it's okay, I suggest we do them in the same formation as in swimming class, Shikamaru-san." (Refer to chapter 7 if you can't remember.)

Shikamaru nodded. "It worked well last time." So, the eight got into formation, and a starting whistle was blown. The harsh and piercing sound filled the air, and splashes were heard from the divers.

The race wasn't much different from the other time, except Shikamaru was _still_ brooding over the fact that he couldn't see any clouds. That slowed the team down significantly, but Sasuke managed to swim fast enough to catch up for lazy Shikamaru.

* * *

Again, they won…sadly for some students and Tsunade, who thought she needed more entertainment and sake. The nice, crisp taste of sake…yes, that would calm her down…

However, she didn't have any at the moment. She sighed heavily, not because she was sake-free, but because classes 1-3 and 2-1 had won almost every single event, if not all of them.

"So, do you think this was fair?" Tsunade asked, facing Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kurenai, Asuma, and Shizune.

Kakashi shrugged, he was a bit busy with his reading, but he managed to glance upwards a bit. Jiraiya sighed as heavily as Tsunade.

"It _does_ seem a bit unfair…" Jiraiya said. "I mean, how could we miss putting them on the same team?"

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, but I personally think that students may start to think you and Jiraiya-sama are favoring your apprentices…" Kurenai put in.

Tsunade once again sighed. "But they won fairly. It was our own fault that we put them on the same team; they just managed to work well together."

"I think that those brats won, even though they used special tactics," Asuma said, inhaling the smoke from his cigarette. He leaned back in his chair. "I think they win. The rest of the brats would complain about how their team won anyway."

"I think Asuma-san is right," Shizune said, petting Tonton, Tsunade's pig, lightly on the head. "They _did_ win. I don't think they used any cheating, because I don't really remember when anybody said they cheated." Tsunade rubbed her temples.

"Okay, I'll announce this now. Thank you for your opinions, except you, Kakashi." Kakashi just shrugged, peering his lone eye around.

"Where is Orochimaru anyway?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade sighed.

"He said he had to be there while he prepared his students. Apparently, he's also teaching Kurenai's science class right now. Some others are filling in for you guys." Kakashi nodded before turning back to his book, giggling occasionally and whispering suspiciously to Jiraiya, aka the author of the famous Icha Icha series.

* * *

"The winner is," Tsunade's voice boomed over the microphone, pausing for a dramatic effect, "Class 1-3 and class 2-1! Second place goes to classes 1-1 and 2-4! Third is classes 1-5 and 2-3! Congratulations!" Tsunade finished, feigning a happy voice. Cheers and groans were heard, like the normal. "You should all be happy that you participated and tried your best!"

"**Argh…this speech is so corny!" **Tsunade thought.

"You may all return to your homeroom and change. It's dismissal anyway, so you are all free to go!" Tsunade exclaimed. People began to walk into the school building, and she sighed in relief. She finally got rid of those annoying children!

* * *

"Ne, ne. That was a weird sports festival, don't you think?" Sakura asked everyone. They all shrugged.

"Yea…pretty much," Ino replied. "Though you have to admit, it was pretty fun."

"And troublesome," Shikamaru added. "There were no clouds today…" Ino bonked him on the head.

"Is that all you ever talk about?! Troublesome clouds?" Ino snarled. Shikamaru scowled, rubbing his head.

"No, and clouds are actually one of the least troublesome things in the world," Shikamaru replied.

"Eh, Ino, I heard Hinata is going with Naruto for ramen on Friday. Is it true?" Tenten asked excitedly. Hinata immediately turned red, but Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep, yep! We're going to have a great time, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. He stopped when he felt eyes trying to burn a whole through his shirt. He turned to meet the same type of eyes as dear Hinata-chan, except, they were another Hyuuga's.

"You better not do anything to her," Neji growled, giving Naruto his best glare. Overprotective much? Yep. "And she better still have her virginity."

Hinata then did something very unexpected. She tapped Neji hard on his shoulder; her face adorned a scowl. "I appreciate that you're trying to protect me, Neji-niisan, but I think I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I also doubt that Naruto-kun would do something as drastic as that, and I expect you to have more trust in him." Sakura then hugged Hinata in front of a stunned audience.

"Yay! Hinata stood up for herself!" Sakura cheered extremely happy for her friend. "And to Neji no less!" Soon afterwards, Naruto began to cheer with the rosette-haired girl. Sasuke began to smirk.

"What are you smirking at, Uchiha?" Neji hissed.

"Nothing, Hyuuga. Just your cousin's finally learned to stand up for herself." Neji decided to look back at Hinata and then at Naruto.

"**Maybe he's not really that bad…if Hinata-san loves him that much…I suppose it's alright."** Neji himself spared a glance at Tenten before shaking his head.

"Bye!" Sakura called as the others, including herself, entered their classroom, 1-3. "See you tomorrow, Tenten!"

"Ja!" Tenten called back waving. When they were halfway up the stairs, Tenten began to speak.

"Um…Neji, c-could you w-walk me home t-today?" Tenten said, stuttering as much as Hinata used to.

"Aa…Why not?"

* * *

_With Neji and Tenten on their walk home…_

"Neji-kun, do you think that today was fun?" Tenten asked suddenly, hands clasped behind her back. The sky began to turn a pink color as she stared at the sky.

Neji shrugged, one eyebrow raised. "Aa…I guess," Neji replied simply. Tenten sighed. No matter how many times she tried to start a conversation, Neji always managed to lead it to nowhere.

"**I wonder if this is how Sakura feels when she's talking to Sasuke…It might even be worse."**

"And since when did you call me 'Neji-kun'. Last time I checked, it was just 'Neji'," Neji remarked, a bit puzzled by the added suffix. He was guessing Tenten didn't even realize, since she jumped abruptly and turned her head to the side, trying to hide a growing blush.

"Well…G-gomen. Do you just want me to call you 'Neji'?" Tenten asked. Neji shrugged.

"Hn. It's alright. Anyway, I like it better when you call me that."

"What? Neji-kun?" Now Neji was the one trying to hide his blush.

"Aa…"

"Okay, then!" Tenten exclaimed. There was a moment of silence before Tenten decided to speak up again. "Your birthday is soon, ne?"

"Aa...Actually it's on Monday. July 3," Neji admitted.

"So…are you having a party after school or something?"

"I suppose so."

"Well…ja! I need to get going!" Neji put his hand up in a gesture of goodbye before walking off.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview**: Neji's Birthday! The Chaos at School! And Tenten's Jealous of Fangirls?!

"Happy birthday, Neji-kun!" the fangirls from class 2-1 cried when Neji walked in with Tenten. They gave her a glare, which she, quite happily, returned. Neji sighed. This was going to be a hell of a day…He already got tons of presents in his locker falling out. Heart shaped ones. With sparkly glitter. Neji shivered. Even thinking about the presents made him sick.

"**Uchiha, you are _so_ lucky your birthday is **_**after**_** the school year ends…"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry! This chapter was up late, and I have an explanation. I was at somebody's house last night, and they had no internet, so I _really_ couldn't work on this! I'm sorry, but it's here!!!

Try reading my story "Family Discussions". It will contain four one-shots, currently only one, though. Please answer the poll at the end in a review! I just need some help.

**I also have to say that next week will probably be my last update for about a month. I'll be going to camp, and visit my profile page to see the full explanation at the top of the page! **

Thank you for all the support! Also, "Orphans to Thieves" will also be posted during the week, if not today.

Kikoru x3


	12. Chapter XII: Neji's Birthday

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XII: Neji's Birthday! The Chaos at School! And Tenten's Jealous of Fangirls?!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: NejiTen will be the main focus of this chapter. This one's dedicated to tennisxdork and Quiet Moon, since they were the ones that wanted the Hyuuga family to be next on "Family Discussions". However, most people voted Uzumaki, so here's to them! When I wrote this, it reminded me a lot of "Anger Management". **Warning: **Language.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura just arrived at school to see a mob of fangirls crowded around what seemed to be two people. They both stopped, lost in their thoughts.

"I wonder who that is…" Sakura said, half to herself and half to Sasuke, who shrugged in response. Imaginary light bulbs appeared no top of their heads, and Sakura snapped.

"It's Neji's/Hyuuga's birthday," they both said. Sasuke smirked.

"Hm? What's so good about that?" Sasuke turned to her and began to chuckle.

"It means no fangirls are after me for the whole day." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Pfft…you're so lucky….I feel so bad for Neji, though."

"Hn."

"Cold-hearted bastard."

* * *

_Rewind: Neji and Tenten's walk to school…_

"Ohayo, Neji-kun!" Tenten exclaimed as she walked out of her door. Neji gave a curt nod in to Tenten as they began walking. "Happy birthday!" she said happily, in a very good mood that day. She pulled out a present wrapped in silver paper. She scratched her head as Neji took it from her hands.

"Well, I wasn't really sure what to get you…Hopefully, you'll still like your present." Inwardly, Tenten was bashing Ino about a deal they all made.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Tenten stared at the computer screen as she signed on. A chat invite popped up almost immediately._

_**WeaponsxMistress has entered the room.**_

_PrincessIno: hey!_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: hi!_

_AnimalxLover: hello, tenten-chan_

_WeaponsxMistress: hey. what's up?_

_PrincessIno: nm, we were just talking about a bet_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: yes, and I can't believe I agreed…ugh_

_PrincessIno: hahahha, well we all have to do it, not just you_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: whatever, but I'm going to kill you, ino-pig, if hinata-chan faints!_

_AnimalxLover: don't worry about me, sakura-chan…_

_WeaponsxMistress: so what's the bet?_

_PrincessIno: muahaha, you have to give Neji a __hand-made__ doll on his birthday. sadly, dear tenten-chan, you go first, then forehead, then me, and last hinata_

_WeaponsxMistress: all to Neji?_

_PrincessIno: xD no sakura's giving it to Uchiha and hinata to that idiot_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: and piggie's going with "Shika-kun"_

_WeaponsxMistress: argh, so I __**have**__to agree?_

_PrincessIno: yesh, or face my wrath! I can to evil things, tenten…_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: she can, tenten, I'm warning you…you have no idea what happened in elementary. ne, hinata-chan, didn't she do anything drastic in middle school?_

_AnimalxLover: hai, she did….it was kinda scary, actually_

_WeaponsxMistress: _O.O _I agree…_

_PrincessIno: yay!_

_XxPinkxandxGreenxX: ino-pig, you have to do it, too…_

_The conversation went on with the girls basically chatting about random things afterwards._

_End Flashback

* * *

_As Neji unwrapped the gift, Tenten focused on her fidgeting fingers. When the gift was finally unwrapped, it showed a mini-Neji doll.

"G-gomen…hehe, pretty stupid huh? What guy still plays with dolls?" Tenten said, scratching the back of her head, trying not to cry. Neji smiled slightly, however.

"No, I think it's cute…"

"Eh?!" Tenten exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Thanks, Tenten."

"N-no problem." Neji stuck the doll into his bag.

"KYA!!!! NEJI-KUUUUUUN!" fangirls shouted as the two arrived at school. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!" Tenten's face adorned a dark scowl. This had to happen last year, too, and let's just say it didn't put Tenten in a positive situation.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_OMIGOD! IT'S NEJI-KUN!!!!!!"_

"_NEJI-CHAN!" the female seniors of that year called. Neji sighed. He couldn't __**wait**__ until next year, when he got rid of these fangirls. Alas, there would be another incoming grade. Tenten glared at the senior fangirls. For __**two**__ months, __**two**__ months, Tenten had been doing everything to get them to stop bothering her friend, Hyuuga Neji._

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The air was soon filled with the ear-splitting song of "Happy Birthday to You." Neji was not happy, and he began to scowl. _

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR, NEJI-KUUUUUUUN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!" Tenten's glare intensified tenfold. _

"_Will you all just shut up?"_

_Later that week…_

"_Here you are, sir," a nurse said as she led Neji to a hospital room. He opened the door to find a scowling Tenten, trying to draw something on a red Etch-a-Sketch board. She looked to see who was visiting before turning her head back to the board._

"_Hey, Tenten," Neji said. _

"_Hello," Tenten replied curtly, not taking her eyes off the board. _

"_Sorry you ended up here…" Tenten smiled a bit and turned to Neji. _

"_It's not really your fault, so don't worry. How have you been doing with your fangirls?"_

"_In my case or in their case?" Tenten giggled lightly._

"_Both." Neji scowled this time._

"_It's just wonderful for them. Just imagine how it is for me…" and the two ended up laughing most of the hospital visit before a nurse had to come by and pull Neji out of the room. _

"_Your visiting time is over."_

"_Aa. Ja!" _

"_Ja ne, Neji!"_

_End flashback

* * *

_Okay, it didn't turn out as bad as it seemed, but Tenten still ended up in the hospital. It was extremely hard for her to make up an excuse to her mother about what happened, but Tenten managed to recover in the following days.

Once again, the screechy voices filled the air with the birthday song that Tenten dreaded oh so much. She glanced at Neji, who had a scowl on his face as well. This wasn't the ideal position to be in: surrounded by screaming fangirls.

Neji managed to catch a glimpse of the younger Uchiha and Sakura walking to school when they stopped and stared their way.

"**Maybe they'll help us?"** He then saw Sasuke start chuckling before the two went off, into the school and their classroom. **"Dammit. I thought they'd help, considering Sakura was there…" **

Tenten was thinking almost the exact same thing as Neji. **"I'm gonna get that Sakura…..I thought she'd help…"** Both were about to start bashing the two in their minds when they saw Sakura dragging a reluctant Sasuke toward the fangirls. Uchiha Sasuke was going to risk his fangirl-free day!?

Sakura, not thinking much of the fangirls, just dove in and grabbed Tenten out. Now for Neji…how were they going to get them to notice Sasuke? Like she was answering Sakura's question, a fangirl pointed at Sasuke, who stared at them with wide eyes. Sakura had just dragged him into hell again.

"Hey! It's Sasuke-kun!" the girl cried. Everyone turned to him and rushed over, leaving Tenten, Sakura, and Neji with each other.

"Tenten, Neji, go into your classroom before they find you and start stalking Neji. They'll realize their 'Neji-kun' needs more attention on his birthday," Sakura whispered, ushering the two towards the door. "I'll take care of this."

Moments later, when Neji and Tenten already reached the second floor's hallways, they heard Sakura call, "Hey? Shouldn't Neji-kun get more attention?! It's his birthday!!!" Tenten burst out laughing and Neji smirked. The fangirls immediately retreated from Sasuke and spread out on campus to look for "Neji-kun".

They saw Sakura drag Sasuke in, seeming to give him an apologetic look and saying, "Gomen," several times. Finally Sasuke sighed and excepted her apology, and the two headed to their classroom. Neji and Tenten began to walk a little down the hallway and enter the classroom.

"Happy birthday, Neji-kun!" the fangirls from class 2-1 cried when Neji walked in with Tenten. They gave her a glare, which she, quite happily, returned. Neji sighed. This was going to be hell…

"**Uchiha, you are so lucky your birthday is **_**after**_** the school year."**

One fangirl stepped up first and gave Neji a heart shaped box. "AISHITERU, NEJI-KUN!" The two friends were trying to make their way to their seats without Neji having to grab any heart shaped presents. Tenten tried to glare and scare them off, but this method failed miserably.

Then, Neji tried to glare. This method failed even _more_ miserably.

"KYA! NEJI-KUN'S LOOKING AT ME!" a girl exclaimed. Everyone sane in the classroom sweat dropped, but all the other fangirls glared.

"NO! HE WAS LOOKING AT ME!"

"NO! IT WAS _ME_!"

"YOU IDIOTS, IT WAS ME!"

"ME!"

"SHUT UP! YOU ALL KNOW NEJI-KUN LOVES ME!"

"C'YA RIGHT! YOU'RE SUCH A FUGLY BITCH!"

"EXCUSE ME?! WHAT ABOUT YOU!"

'SLAP' Catfight! The method didn't fail as miserably as expected, because in the end, it managed to get the fangirls distracted. Gai waltzed into the room soon after.

"OHAYO, CLASS! WE WILL BE DOING ATTENDANCE NOW! TAKE YOUR YOUTHFUL SEATS!" Gai exclaimed, pulling out the black attendance book and a red pen from his drawer. He went through the names, and Tenten noticed a piece of folded loose-leaf land on her desk. She opened it up and read it:

_Dear Ten-Bitch:_

_Get away from Neji. We all know you're a fucking ugly bitch. You look like you have dog shit on your head all the time, and you think you're better than us. Well, you're wrong. _

_Yamada Hanako_

_President of the Hyuuga Neji Fanclub_

Tenten glared at Hanako, who was sitting to the right of her. Hanako was actually a very pretty girl, though a bit shorter than average. If you didn't know her well, you'd think she was an innocent girl, for she wore her blonde hair in two low pigtails with red ribbons. After seeing the mischievous glints in her purple eyes and receiving evil smirks from her, you would probably figure out she was indeed a very evil girl.

She was so evil towards her "minions" that if you compared how she acted with the Neji fangirls to how Mitsuki acted with the Sasuke fangirls, Mitsuki would look like an angel. Of course, most of the normal teachers didn't really know Hanako personally, and just thought she was a sweetheart. However, few of the staff, including Shizune and Tsunade, knew she was behind many of the intolerable rumors that spread.

Hanako smirked triumphantly, happy that she was able to anger the girl before her.

"Tenten, Tenten. Is Tenten here?" Gai called out to the class, looking for one of his favorite, hardworking students.

"Hai, Gai-sensei," Tenten said halfheartedly, holding her head down to the desk soon after. Gai gave her a quick "nice guy" pose to try to cheer her up, not wanting to speak to make her feel worse. A small smile tugged on the brunettes lips as Gai continued with attendance.

Though Gai was satisfied with the half-smiling Tenten, the Hyuuga present in the room was not. He noticed Tenten glare at Hanako, the president of his fanclub, before slumping into her chair in a slightly worse mood. He furrowed his eyebrows. What could be bothering her? He knew that it had something to do with the fangirls…

"Yosh! It is wonderful to know that everyone in this youthful class is here. Until the bell rings, you can do some youthful socializing," Gai announced in a softer voice than his usual one, much to everyone's relief. However, the soft aura was broken when the fangirls, once again, began to break out into song.

Some of them were good singers, actually. Neji had heard them in music, but right now, it seemed they were all singing-no screaming-in grating voices that could break glass. As a matter of fact, it _did_ break glass. The singing began to break a window, and Gai had to scratch the chalkboard, making a rasping noise, to get the girls to shut up.

'Bring' Everyone rushed to their individual lockers, which were in the back of the room, to get their things. When Tenten reached her locker, which was below Neji's, Neji opened his locker and candies, chocolates, watches, and presents of all sorts cascaded out, causing Tenten to be buried under them all.

"Tenten!" Gai saw this as everyone left the classroom and quickly wrote a note.

"Neji, what's your first period?"

"Math with Kakashi-sensei," Neji replied, trying to pull Tenten out of the pile of presents.

"Oww…" Tenten whined, rubbing her head, which took most of the impact.

"Sorry, Tenten," Neji said, trying to stuff the gifts back into his locker. Tenten flashed him a bright smile before collecting her books.

"No, no, it's no problem," Tenten replied as Gai tore a note off of his notepad, giving it to them so they wouldn't be blamed for being late. "Arigatou." Gai grinned with his oh-so-shiny-teeth.

"Yosh! Now get to your youthful class with the un-youthful Hatake Kakashi!" The two students sweat dropped before scurrying out of the room to class.

* * *

_Lunch…_

"So, Hyuuga, how is fangirl hell so far?" Sasuke asked, smirking. "You owe me for this morning."

"Hn," Neji replied in an agitated tone, not bothering to look at the all too annoying Uchiha.

"How's your day been, Tenten?" Ino asked the bun-haired girl.

As a response, she got a glare. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Hanako's getting to you, isn't she?" Tenten just glared again, but a curt nod was given as well. Ino smiled. "Than stay strong…like forehead-girl…"

"Ino-pig, you're calling me strong when I used to be a 'blossoming bud'!" Sakura said, face flushed from her best friend's unusual and rare compliment. If you couldn't find a flaw in somebody, Ino could. Ino laughed.

"No, no, forehead. You're a flower now!" Ino said, nodding her head up and down. Tenten stared at Sakura, admiring her pink haired friend.

"**If only I was more like you…"**

"Ne, Neji, is it your seventeenth birthday?" Naruto asked. Neji shook his head, which caused confused expressions to appear on everyone's face, except Neji, Hinata, and Tenten.

"I'm actually sixteen today," Neji replied.

"But, you guys are second years, right? Shouldn't you be turning seventeen? Does that mean Tenten's sixteen, too?" Sakura asked, knowing Tenten's birthday was during spring break, the interval between the end of one school year to the start of another.

"Hai," Tenten replied. "When me and Neji-kun were smaller, we skipped a grade together. Ever since, we've been in a grade higher…"

"Oh…" Ino said. "If only you guys were in our class it would be so much more-"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru finished, though it wasn't the ideal answer for Ino. She bonked him on the head.

"I was going to say fun, not troublesome!" They sweat dropped.

"Shikamaru-san, I really think that you need to drop this troublesome habit…I might have to tell Tsunade-shishou about this…" Sakura put in. "You could be in a state of very bad depression." More sweat drops and a glare from Shikamaru.

"Too much of a troublesome habit to break anymore, Sakura," Shikamaru stated. Sakura pouted.

"Ya see? You might be in depression, being the type of pessimist you are…"

"Ne, ne, Neji, you having a party?!" Naruto exclaimed, curiosity getting the best of him. Neji sighed.

However, it was Hinata who answered for him. "Hai, Neji-niisan is having a party, though it will be held in the main house's mansion…" Hinata trailed off in the end, not wanting to anger Neji by reminding him the tragic fate the branch family used to hold. Neji sighed again.

"It's okay, Hinata-san," Neji said, "I don't exactly hold a grudge anymore."

"Wait, so its at Hinata-chan's house?! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura smiled warmly. "I'll be sure to bring my present over then…What time? And why in the main household and not the branch?"

"The fangirls might try and track me, but not Hinata-san," Neji said, "And come by at four thirty…You guys can stay until ten thirty, but I don't want Hinata-san's little sister to not get enough sleep by Naruto's loudness. Not to mention Lee's coming…" Neji replied. At the statement, Naruto scowled while Sasuke, unnoticed by the others, narrowed his eyes a bit at the name of one of Sakura's prominent, if not the most prominent, fanboy in the school. Apparently, Shikamaru still saw the act and grinned sleepily. "And you don't really need to dress formally…Now, would you excuse me."

Neji got up from the grass and left, heading towards the little boys' room. However, when he entered the empty halls, he actually found them to be not so empty anymore.

"Hello, Neji-kun," Hanako purred, giving him a smirk that was supposedly sexy. He cringed. She began to walk over to him in a "seductive" manner before pushing him into a classroom. He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want?" he hissed. She smirked again.

"Just want to deliver you a _special_ birthday present," she said.

"What might that be?" Neji said, backing up a bit, trying to escape this evil room. However, he became trapped leaning on a desk.

Hanako grinned sweetly. "Me," she said, pointing to herself, leaning so that Neji was forced to look down her shirt. "Like what you-"

"Neji!" a voice shouted, slamming the door open. The person's eyes widened and she scowled. Neji thought she was going to misunderstand and get everything mixed up.

"Tenten. I-"

"Fuck you, Hanako! You bitch! How could you do this to Neji?!" Hanako shrugged.

"Simple: I want Neji-kun for myself," Hanako said, twirling a strand of blonde hair.

"You're disgusting!" Tenten snarled. "I don't even see Mitsuki stooping as low as you!" Hanako just grinned, aggravating the bun-haired girl even more.

"Ah, Uchiha Sasuke is actually my next target," she stated, purple eyes glinting. "Maybe I'll go for him if you leave Neji-kun with me. It's his birthday present from me, after all."

"Is this what you did when you were in your old school, Yamada?!" Tenten exclaimed, referring to how Hanako transferred the year before during the second term. "Play around with boys and sleeping with them for fun?"

"Pretty much." Just then, scraping noises of shoes were heard. Everyone else had arrived.

"Tenten, what happen-" Sakura started before seeing Hanako and narrowing her eyes. "Yamada."

"Ah! The famous Haruno Sakura, I see. I'm flattered you know who I am…Don't worry, I won't forget to snatch Sasuke-kun, too." Sasuke had to suppress a flinch. This was a complete playgirl and slut. Worse than Mitsuki could ever be. Sakura growled and clenched her fists.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Ino yelled loudly.

"My, my, what colorful language you have," Hanako said, trying to provoke the others. Even dear Hinata-chan was glaring, becoming much more vicious than before.

"Yamada Hanako, get the fuck away from my cousin. Now," Hinata stated, firm and angry as ever. Both parties had to glance at her with a look of shock, before seeing the dark aura that was forming around her.

'Bring' Hinata gave Hanako one last glare. "You're so lucky the bell rang, you piece of shit," Hinata said. "But that doesn't mean you're safe." With that, Hinata delivered a well aimed punch in the gut before they rushed out of the room, leaving Hanako clutching her stomach in pain.

* * *

_On the way to the Hyuuga mansion…_

"What the hell is that bitch's fucking problem?!" Hinata yelled, completely going insane from before. She wanted to explode before they got there, so she could refrain from using such harsh and rude language at the mansion.

"Hinata, calm down," Tenten said. "We'll talk about it when the others come."

"Hinata-san, I'm okay. Don't worry, and please do not use such language. Hiashi-sama may become angry at me," Neji put in, already out of his state of shock and just trying to formulate plans to get away from this evil fangirl of his.

"H-hai…" Hinata said reluctantly, not wanting to get her cousin in trouble on his birthday.

"Let's just enjoy the time today," Tenten said, ringing the doorbell. 'Ding dong' 'Ding dong' A maid opened the door, smiling.

"Hello, Hinata-sama, Tenten-san," the maid said to the two ladies. She moved her gaze to Neji, smiling a very bright smile. "Happy birthday, Neji-sama."

"Thank you," Neji replied politely as the three stepped in. "If my friends come, will you please tell them we're in the living room?"

"Of co-" 'Ding dong' 'Ding dong' "Hello!" Sasuke stood at the doorway calmly, holding a small present. Sakura was behind in moments, panting heavily with a present as well. Sasuke smirked.

"I _told_ you not to race me," Sasuke said. Sakura glared.

"Hn!" Sasuke's smirk widened.

"Look who's complaining about _my_ 'hn's and 'aa's," Sasuke said, turning to the other three and the maid.

"Chicken butt," Sakura growled, stepping in after Sasuke. "So, Neji, are you okay?" she asked, suddenly changing her mood. He nodded. "Good. If you need any psychology, just go to Tsunade-shishou. Maybe you can go with Shikamaru one day. Here's your present." Sakura handed him her gift, which he opened. He found a book titled The Truth About Fate. He smirked slightly and Hinata began to giggle after looking at the title. Neji showed it to Tenten, who burst out laughing.

"How'd you know Neji is all 'fate controls everything'?" Tenten asked. Sakura grinned.

"I have my sources." Neji nodded and turned to Sasuke, giving him an expectant look. Sasuke handed him the box, and inside was a video game titled Choosing Fate. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't seen this game before…" Sasuke smirked.

"Read the copyright." Neji glanced at the small text.

_Copyright of Uchiha Inc. _Neji scowled. "So that's how it is, eh, Uchiha?" Sasuke shrugged.

"It's an RPG, where you can actually choose your fate."

"I believe fate is already decided," Neji said, scowling. Sasuke smirked.

"That's why I got you this: to tick you off."

"Hn." 'Ding dong' The maid opened the door and in came Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino jumping in.

"Happy birthday, Neji!" the two blondes chorused while Shikamaru walked past them, muttering, "Troublesome idiots." Shikamaru handed a book to Neji, which when he turned over was titled 101 Strategies on How to Win Shougi. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this what you gave Sakura on her birthday?" Neji asked, showing Sakura the book.

"Yea! It's the exact same one…" Shikamaru sighed.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice, but it was too troublesome to pick something else out." The others sweat dropped.

"You really need to see Tsunade-shishou, Shikamaru," Sakura commented.

"Now my present!" Ino exclaimed, giving Neji her wrapped gift. He opened it to find a box full of hair ribbons, causing veins to pop on his head.

"Ino…they're hair ribbons."

"Exactly," Ino said, nodding. "It would fit nicely with your hair." Everyone was trying to imagine this and they burst out laughing, for exception of Ino and Neji. "I'm actually serious…" Everyone stopped laughing. Was this also part of the joke. Apparently not, since Ino didn't say anything afterwards.

Next, Naruto handed Neji his gift. "I hope you like it, dattebayo!" Neji opened it to find black boxers covered in ramen. His eye involuntarily twitched. "Ne, ne, how do you like it?" Once again, there were bursts of laughter, but Neji brushed them aside, taking the three presents.

"So what do we do now?" Tenten asked. She received shrugs from the others before she grabbed the game Sasuke gave Neji. Tenten began to scan the cover. "Hey, Sasuke, is it multiplayer by any chance?"

"Aa," Sasuke replied, giving a curt nod.

"Okay, then! We can play this!"

* * *

_Two hours later…_

"I see you actually like the game, Hyuuga, considering the time we've been playing this…" Sasuke said, looking at Neji, who had his eyes glued to the screen, only taking them off to glare.

"Neji-sama, we're ready to eat dinner," a maid said as she entered the room. "And I think having your eyes so close to the screen is bad for your eyesight, Neji-sama." Neji sighed and quickly saved the game, shutting the television off.

"Ne, ne, Ino, Tenten, Hinata-chyaaan, Sakura-chyaaan! Wake up! Rise and shine! Time for dinner!" Naruto exclaimed. The four girls had fallen asleep as soon as Neji began to get addicted, having no chance to play. "You, too, lazy ass!" Shikamaru had fallen asleep right after he plopped himself onto the couch. All five sat up abruptly, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

Everyone walked to the dining room. It had a marble floor and a beautiful, mahogany table which was covered in white. For that day, Neji was sitting at the head. The others took their seats as a feast was brought before them.

"Itadakimasu!" they exclaimed before they began to eat. Light chat flew across the table, commenting how nicely the food was cooked.

"If only there was miso ramen…" Naruto added. A cook heard this.

"Would you like me to make some, sir?" the cook said.

"Really?! Could you do that for me?!" Naruto exclaimed. The cook gave a weary smile and nodded. "Thank you!!!" With that, the old cook walked off, his voice being heard calling out to get the ingredients. Everyone sighed.

"Naruto, don't you have enough manners to appreciate what you have?" Sakura said, bonking him on the head, since he was on her right.

"Sakura-chyaaan…but you know how much I like ramen!" Naruto said, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Well you know what?" Sakura asked in a matter-of-fact tone, "One day, you're going to die from ramen overdose." As she finished, a small smile began to grace her lips.

Of course, this seemed, and was, ridiculous, but Naruto decided to believe Sakura's joke. "Ah!!!! I'm going to die?!" Naruto exclaimed. Everyone sweat dropped. Sakura was ready to scold him and say it was just a joke, but he forgot as soon as the miso ramen landed in front of him.

Naruto's blue eyes began to gleam and his mouth watered. He took his chopsticks and began to slurp and swallow. "This is delicious!"

"Thank you, sir," the old cook said, bowing and smiling. After everyone was finished with dinner, and several bowls of ramen in Naruto's case, the cook brought out a cake decorated with white, vanilla frosting. In dark blue frosting, it read: _Happy Birthday, Neji!_ The candles were lit, and however childish it seemed, everyone began to sing.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Nejiiii. Happy birthday to youuuuu!" everyone sang, or mumbled in the case of Sasuke, who just refused to use his voice to sing such a silly song. Neji blew out the candles and made a wish.

"**I hope it really does come true…"** He than cut the cake, and everyone got a piece, him getting the first. However, he decided to give it to Tenten.

"No, no, you should have the first piece!" Tenten said.

"It's okay. You can have it. Anyway, cake isn't my favorite thing in the world."

"Arigatou," Tenten said as she took the cake from Neji. Everyone settled down to eat cake, for exception of Sasuke, who claimed he didn't like sweets. After eating, they all said their good-byes, leaving the house. Hinata stayed in the mansion, being the one who lived there.

* * *

_At Neji's home…_

Neji pulled out the doll Tenten made of him. He set it at his bedside and climbed into his bed. Closing his eyes, his last thoughts were to his wish.

"**I wish that I will always be able to protect Tenten…"** With that last thought, Hyuuga Neji fell asleep.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** The Studying! The Finals! Meet My Study Buddy!

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-sensei, please! Help me study!" Sasuke raised and eyebrow.

"Which subject?"

"Urm…all of them?" Sasuke shot her an incredulous look. Sakura wasn't _that_ stupid. Hell, she wasn't even stupid. So why did she need help studying?

* * *

A/N: Okay, I admit, the end of this chapter was cheesy. xD Whatever, I had fun typing this. Well, this is my last update for three weeks. I'm sorry about that! I hoped you liked the chapter, which was slightly shorter this time. TT.TT I just wanna bitch slap Hanako right now. xD I want to kill my own OC, but I can't take her out now, ne? Sorry, a very OOC Hinata! xD

If you want to check out a fanfic I might be making, go to my profile page and click "Homepage". There, you'll see fanfiction status on one of the boxes in the left. You'll pretty much see what's going on here, and it's different from stats on my FF profile page.

Well, I love you all! Ja!

Kikoro x3


	13. Chapter XIII: The Finals Have Arrived!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XIII: The Studying! The Finals! Meet My Study Buddy!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I was, as you SHOULD know, at camp. I needed about a week to recover and put together this chapter. I'm sorry I couldn't reply to SO many of your reviews in ALL my stories. I'm amazed that my inbox had over 100 emails when I got back. xD I love you all so much!

OMG! Randomness, but the new Shippuuden ending actually shows some characters high school style! xD Including Kakashi!

* * *

Sakura was sitting idly on her desk, blowing a strand of pink hair.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," she called to her seatmate, who turned his head slightly, "how long has it been since the bell rang for the beginning of homeroom?" Sasuke quickly glanced at the clock in the front of the room.

"About half an hour," he replied in monotone, not the least bit surprised that Kakashi dared to be _this_ late. Sakura sighed in exasperation. Suddenly, the door of the classroom slid open.

"Ohayo! Gomen, minna-san, I got lost-"

"Liar!" over three quarters of the class exclaimed.

"Why do we even let him get _that_ far in his explanation?" Sakura mumbled under her breath. Kakashi laughed sheepishly. How surprising.

"Well…I'm sure you all know the finals are tomorrow," he announced. Silence followed. The silver-haired man grinned under his mask. Surprise, surprise.

"Well, just wanted to give you a reminder. Now, for the roll call," he said, slipping the black attendance book from the drawer. "Aizawa Midori?"

"H-hai," Midori called silently, still shocked at the announcement of the finals. Kakashi continued with the roll call, ignorant of the startled replies of his students; some students stayed silent and made him find them, some called out weakly, like Midori, and others, were unfazed.

And, of course, Uchiha Sasuke was one of the few.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Kakashi called.

"Hn." But what did this translate to?

"**These people are idiots."**

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

'Thump'

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, kneeling down to her fallen classmate.

"Naruto?!" Sakura yelled, rubbing her 'oversized' forehead. "How the _hell_ did you _faint_?!" Many gasps were heard as Kakashi decided to heave a deep sigh, his visible eye closing.

"Hinata," Kakashi called, "would you please take Naruto to the nurse's office?" Slowly, a hidden smirk began to form on his face. He wasn't oblivious to this, though rather obvious, crush this Hyuuga had.

"H-hai!" Hinata exclaimed, trying to hide the blush that was creeping on her face.

"Arigatou. Maybe Sasuke can help a bit, since Naruto _is_ getting a little heavy on instant ramen," Kakashi remarked.

"Tch, a _little_?" Sakura sneered incredulously. "And you forgot Ichiraku's." Kakashi chuckled.

"Yes, yes. Now you two, carry him to the nurse." Sasuke sighed before getting up from his seat. He slung one of Naruto's arms over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the fidgety Hyuuga.

"Are you going to help, or to you want me to drag him there?" Sasuke snapped, never one that was patient.

"H-hai! Gomen nasai!" Hinata said, snapping out of her daze.

"Hn." Hinata then mimicked Sasuke, and they supported the body as Naruto's legs dragged on the floor. When they reached the nurse's office, Shizune was sitting on her desk, talking with someone on the phone.

"-NO!!! Tsunade-sama most definitely does _not_ owe you 100 million yen!!! I will not stand for this _nonsense_!" she screamed before slamming the phone down and sighing heavily, sinking into her chair and closing her eyes for a moment. She rubbed her temples, muttering, "Why does Tsunade-sama do this to me?"

"Shizune-san," Sasuke called. The medic snapped her head towards the door. She rushed over at the sight of Naruto's limp body. Naruto not yelling and jumping around was a bad thing.

"Bring him here," she instructed, patting the bed. The two lay Naruto down, trying not to wake him up. Almost immediately after the task was done, Sasuke turned around and headed for the door.

"Sasuke-san, where are you going?" inquired Shizune.

Without turning around, Sasuke replied, "My help is no longer needed." The Uchiha walked arrogantly out of the room, leaving Hinata and Shizune to wait for the unconscious Naruto to awaken.

After a few moments, Shizune seemed to remember something and rushed to her desk, grabbing a tall stack of papers. "Hinata-san, I have to go run a quick errand. Could you stay here for a little?" Shizune asked.

"O-of course, Shizune-san," Hinata replied, just a little bit startled. Shizune sighed in relief.

"Arigatou," she said, rushing out of the room. Hinata sighed. She leaned her head very close to Naruto's own head.

"Naruto-kun, why did you faint?" Hinata asked softly, half to herself and half to Naruto.

"I'm awake, Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled suddenly, blue eyes opening and staring into Hinata's pale ones.

"Ahhh!" Hinata screamed, falling backwards into the chair. "Naruto-kun, please don't scare me like that!"

Naruto laughed sheepishly, sitting upright. "Gomen, Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to," he said, a grin plastered on his face, though Hinata knew it was a sincere apology. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem, Naruto-kun. Anyway, Sasuke-san helped a little, too," Hinata replied.

"Eh?!" Naruto shouted. "Why isn't Sasuke-teme in here?"

"Sasuke-san left when we got here," Hinata answered, trying to think if her explanation even made sense.

Naruto sighed. "That teme never cares, does he?"

"Unless it's about Sakura-chan," Hinata blurted out, too fast to stop herself.

And Naruto turned, staring at her intently…

And Naruto closed his blue eyes, just for the slightest moment…

And his lips quirked upwards, evident happiness shining on his face…

And then he laughed. Very, _very_ loudly.

"Of course Sasuke-teme cares about her!" Naruto exclaimed, but his mood turned a little solemn. "In all the years Sasuke grew up, he faced loneliness. The only one that probably made Sasuke happy in those years was his aniki, Itachi. But, when Sasuke was about nine, Itachi started doing drugs and joined a gag. His parents were away, on some long business trip. The 'perfect' brother he grew to idolize had failed him. After about a year, Itachi managed to stop, figuring it was probably bad for both of them. He was nearing the end of high school, after all, so he was about to enter college. Sasuke eventually forgave him; if you give him time, he's a forgiving person. So, they're on pretty good terms. Itachi just likes to annoy the crap out of teme!"

Naruto began to laugh slightly, but Hinata glanced down at the floor.

"Sasuke-san has had a hard life…how is he with his parents?" Hinata asked, not lifting her gaze from the floor.

"Mikoto-san, his kaa-san, is close to him. She's very nice, too. They have ramen every time I go to the main Uchiha mansion!" Naruto exclaimed. "His dad…let's just say it's different."

"Oh…so h-"

"Naruto!! Lay down!" The two turned their heads to the doorway to find a panting Shizune.

"Why?" Naruto whined. "I want to talk to Hinata-chan! Dattebayo!"

Shizune sighed, but a grin appeared on her face. "Then I suppose you can go back to class, seeing that you are completely conscious and okay now," she said, watching the horrified look on Naruto's face. "Up, now." Naruto reluctantly and slowly got off the bed, trembling. He even had to hold Hinata's arm for support. Shizune raised a questioning eyebrow. Certainly the shock Naruto went through wasn't _that_ bad. But then again, you can never trust a prankster like him.

"Naruto, why is going back to class so bad?" Shizune asked seriously.

Naruto gulped, what seemed to be, unconsciously. "F-f-finals. Soon."

Shizune stared at Naruto, probably trying to decide if the person before her was actually serious. When she thought him of telling the truth, she did what anyone (except for maybe Hinata) would do after hearing a fear so ridiculously trivial.

She burst out laughing. "Finals?! That was it?!" Shizune exclaimed. Naruto scowled and dragged Hinata out of the room, right past the laughing Shizune.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata called when they entered the hallway, "Do you want me to help you study? I promised I would before…" Naruto grinned brightly, and his eyes began to sparkle.

"Would you really?!"

"Hai…"

"Hinata-chan's helping me study for the finals! Dattebayo!!!!" All eyes were on Naruto. Apparently, Hinata had slid the door open in the process. She closed her eyes tightly, and she winced.

"**Gomen, Naruto-kun!"**

"Naruto, I sugge-" Kakashi started, but he was interrupted by Naruto.

"Teme, stop smirking!!!!" he spat, pointing accusingly at Sasuke, who was indeed smirking.

"Why should I dobe?" Sasuke shot back, raising an aggravating eyebrow.

"Naruto, take your seat," Kakashi said sternly, a tone of unusual seriousness in his voice. "You, too, Hinata. Thank you for escorting him back."

The class was silenced. When was Kakashi this serious?

"As I was saying," Kakashi said, turning a page in his copy of the history textbook. "I am going to write some things on the board that you should copy. That is, if you want to pass the finals." He glanced around the room until he was satisfied that everyone had pulled out his or her notebook. "I see you're actually trying." He turned around.

"Uchiha Sasuke, get your notebook out. I honestly don't _want_ to torture you in detention today, but I will if I have to."

Sasuke stiffened. Kakashi's type of torture was something you _never_ wanted to go through, and Sasuke was unfortunate enough to experience it.

'Don't make us go through that again! That was complete hell!" So, for once, Sasuke listened to his inner and pulled his notebook out.

But did he write what was on the board?

No, he just pretended to.

* * *

_Science class…_

"Hello, class, how are we today?" Kurenai asked cheerfully, her red eyes gazing at the pile of papers she was straightening. As a reply, there were many incoherent mumbles as the class filed in and slumped over at their desks. "What's keeping you all in a bad mood?" she asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as she put the stack of papers on her desk and seated herself, opening her planner.

"Finals," the class mumbled, but them all together was loud enough to hear. Kurenai coughed to disguise her laughing, hoping nobody would notice.

But of course, there were a few that knew, whose scowls were engraved deeper into their faces.

"Thank you for reminding me! Can you all write down that they will be on July 17, which is tomorrow, if it'll do any good. I already told you, but I would like to make sure you have the date, even if it is tomorrow," Kurenai exclaimed, smiling innocently. The students shuffled around and pulled out their planners or notebooks, groaning at the mention of the dreaded test.

"And just to be nice," Kurenai continued, "I'll give you this period to study! Hm...If I were you, I'd study DNA. It's a big part of the test, and it can get very confusing. So go on. You are allowed to ask your partner questions, and you may come and ask me questions as well, but I'd like this to be quieter than usual. So pull out your textbooks. Happy studying!"

Sakura cursed under her breath as she began to read. **"What the hell is this? Did we even learn this?"** "Psst," Sakura whispered. Sasuke turned his head, raising an eyebrow. "When did we learn this?" Sasuke was about to hiss out an angry retort when he quickly registered that Sakura was in the nurse's office that day.

"…You weren't here…you were in the nurse's office…" Sasuke mumbled. "Just finish reading the chapter." He turned back to his own textbook. He heard Sakura sigh heavily before she became silent, and all that filled the room was the breathing and flipping of pages. After about forty-five minutes, he began to hear soft banging noises, and he jerked his head toward his seatmate.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed when he saw her banging her head against the lab table.

Sakura glared, a pout forming on her face. "I don't get _any_ of this. What the hell is this?!" Sakura replied, pointing at a box with letters:

ATCGAGCTA

TAGCTCGAT

Sasuke stared at the combination of letters before sighing. In the paragraph above, they just explained what that was. "Sakura, are you even paying attention? A is adenine, T is thymine, G is guanine and C is cytosine. Those are the four bases in DNA that are held together by hydrogen bonds with sugar-phosphate," Sasuke said, pointing to the paragraph above.

Sakura flushed, confusion evident in her eyes. Sasuke sighed. This was _way_ too complicated to explain, even for him. He just took this information in, and it just kinda…registered.

"Wha...?" Sakura uttered.

"Haruno, Uchiha, what might you two be doing? I said quiet," Kurenai asked from the front of the room.

"Ah," Sakura stammered, "Gomen, I just didn't understand…I don't think I was here that time…" Kurenai tapped her desk before realizing where she was that day.

"Oh, it's okay…I'll allow you two to talk then…quietly."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Sakura said. Kurenai flashed her an encouraging smile. Sakura gave her a weak, thankful smile in return. When Kurenai turned back to her paperwork, the rosette haired girl's smile faded, and her green orbs quickly narrowed. "So, what exactly does this mean?"

Sasuke sighed. He ran a hand through his blue-black hair in frustration and his eyebrows met. Seriously, how was he going to explain this?

…Wait, the class took notes…

Notes! Sasuke dug into his backpack and pulled out his notebook. He quickly flipped the pages to find it…blank. Sasuke inwardly slapped himself in the forehead. Did he just forget he never took notes.

Sakura, on the other hand, was staring in a dumbfounded at her seatmate. She began to tap her fingers idly on the table, like in the morning.

So she decided to ask an easier question.

…Or you could say a question that was easier to explain. Nothing was hard for Uchiha Sasuke!

"So, Sasuke-kun, what does DNA stand for?" Sakura asked, trying to look over at the text to see if it was there.

"Deoxyribonucleic acid."

"Deorib what?" Sakura asked, staring at Sasuke just trying to figure out how to _pronounce _that.

'Whatever, you don't even know what it means,' inner Sakura snapped. 'Our brain is getting damaged in here.'

Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes. **"Kurenai-sensei said it was important in the test herself. We **_**need**_** to know what it is."**

'So, go ahead and fail the test. Nothing _that_ bad is going to happen.'

"**Except our grades will go down…and there goes my dream."**

'Ugh, I think I'm having a heatstroke,' inner Sakura rasped, dropping to the floor dramatically.

"**Maybe I'd believe you if we weren't inside in a perfectly, well air-conditioned room!"**

'Tch, whatever. You're no fun.'

"**Well, it's not like **_**your**_** aspect of fun is appropriate."**

"Ha-ru-no Sa-ku-ra!" Sasuke hissed, breaking Sakura's inner argument. "Do you _want _to pass or not?"

'Bring'

"All right, class, you are dismissed. Time for lunch," Kurenai said at the front of the room. Everyone packed their textbooks or notebooks into their bags and left the room. Sakura sighed shakily; she _really_ didn't want to fail. She trudged out of the classroom, head bowed low and pink bangs covering her eyes.

She accidentally walked into Sasuke, who looked down at her. He sighed. "What do you want?"

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-sensei, please! Help me study!" Sasuke raised and eyebrow.

"Which subject?" **"Probably science…"**

"Urm…all of them?" Sasuke shot her an incredulous look. Sakura wasn't _that_ stupid. Hell, she wasn't even stupid. So why did she need help studying?

"Well, you _are _the Uchiha prodigy, are you not?" Sakura asked. She blinked her eyelashes charmingly. "I wanted to learn from the _best_."

Sasuke smirked. "I don't need flattery to let me know that," he replied, "not that flattery will get you anywhere."

"Aww," Sakura pleaded, pouting. "_Please!_ Pretty please with a cherry on top! C'mon, Uchiha, I'll do anything!"

"Would you really?" Sasuke asked tauntingly.

Sakura swore under her breath, followed by something that sounded suspiciously like, "Conceited, stuck-up, egotistic jerk…"

Sasuke sighed. "Fine, I'll help you. Just where?...And when?"

Sakura looked upwards, thinking. "Hm," she mused, tapping her index finger lightly on her chin. "Well, we should meet after school of co-"

"Teme's meeting with Sakura-chan after school?!" Naruto exclaimed, a mischievous grin on his face.

Sasuke scowled. "Nice job, you let the fangirls here…" he murmured. Naruto frowned. He didn't mean to do that, even if he liked annoying Sasuke.

"Oops…" he said sincerely, staring hard at the ground. The others stared at the scene before them before they burst out laughing.

"Don't you dare laugh at _my_ Sasuke-kun!" Everyone turned to the fangirl and were surprised to see who it was.

"…Mitsuki?" they said unsteadily. Wasn't she suspended?

She flashed them an all-too-evil smirk. "I'm _so_ glad that you remembered my name, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke rolled his eyes. What was the point of arguing. "Then _why_ are you meeting with _that thing_," Mitsuki asked venomously, pointing at Sakura, who was glaring, "after school? Why not _me_?"

"Actually, I think he's just helping her study. Remember what happened in science class?" Ino said, blue eyes narrowing. "You _do_ remember that Sasuke was helping her."

Mitsuki scowled. "But why not me?!" she whined. "I'm gonna be _way _smarter and easier to teach!"

"Well, then maybe you're smart enough to study on your own," Tenten snapped, throwing a piece of rice into her mouth.

"But I wasn't here that day _either_!" Mitsuki cried. This was getting really annoying.

"That," Neji said, "was your own fault."

"Ugh! Neji-kun!!!!" Mitsuki protested. She stomped away, face red with anger, to her posse. She began to scream at Ami, who didn't do anything wrong.

"Why didn't you help me? Bitch!" _'Slap!'_ Ouch. Ami winced slightly as her face turned. Seeing that she didn't exactly burst into tears, she was probably used to it.

"G-gomen, president…" Ami stammered, before rushing away with the other girls as Mitsuki entered the building to re-apply her makeup, though she already had too much. She began to mutter incoherent swears as she walked down the hallway, eyes darkening.

"Wow, she's harsh…" Tenten muttered, before remembering Hanako. "…Not like that bitch though…"

"Like who?" Ino said, a grin plastered on her face. Any gossip would brighten _her_ day. "You know you can't hide this, Tenten-chan!"

Tenten's face began to redden with anger. She didn't even want to say the girl's name; it felt like she'd taint her tongue. "She means Yamada Hanako." Tenten glanced at Neji, wondering exactly how he knew this, but her gaze held a tint of thanks.

"Ah…the president of your fanclub?...I thought Mitsuki was troublesome," Shikamaru drawled dully, eyes widened in slight surprise.

Sakura shook her head. "Exactly…exactly how bad is she?" she asked in concern. Mitsuki was pretty bad, and she never, _never_, wanted Tenten to go through worse. The Neji fanclub wasn't as active as Sasuke's—most of the girls flirted with other guys, so their attention was a little detached from Neji. The society was bigger, yes, but many of the first years didn't interact with Neji. Therefore, they mostly fell head over heels for the Uchiha.

"She's…unexplainable," Neji answered, choosing his words carefully so he wouldn't aggravate Tenten. Sakura gave a curt nod—she understood what Tenten felt like.

Ino, however, wanted to dig deeper, not aware of the dangers she was about to face. "What, exactly, did she do?" she said, arching her eyebrow.

'_Snap'_ The temper bar in Tenten's mind just broke. "You wanna know how bad she is?!" Tenten screamed. "In the morning, she fucking surrounded me and Neji when we were trying to get to school! Then, she sends me this shitty note during class and fucking called me a bitch. AND SHE SAID MY HAIR LOOKED LIKE SHIT!

"—Tenten-chan, I think that—" Hinata interrupted.

"—The whore decided to stuff Neji's locker with UNWANTED gifts and I was drowned, _drowned_, in them! Then, the bitches broke my fucking ears when they were singing. You all fucking know she tried to fucking rape Neji, and that wasn't enough! She wanted to rape Sasuke, too! That bitchy whore with a fucking stick up her ass that fucking thinks everyone except her is shit needs to go to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tenten finished panting, and Ino knew her mistake.

"G.-gomen nasai, Tenten...I didn't mean to…" Ino said, eyes downcast.

Tenten paused, regaining her composure. "No—you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry, I lost my temper. We should be getting back to class now." She gave them a reassuring smile before she walked off, inwardly sulking at the fact that she'd be seeing Hanako in class.

"I better get going," Neji said curtly, rushing after Tenten. "Hey, you need any help studying?" he said unsurely, trying to comfort the girl. They were friends since they were in diapers. That's a _long_ time.

And for a moment, Neji thought she'd turn around and snap at him—that was her usual reaction when they were kids. But when she grinned widely and sincerely, he remembered that Tenten changed since they were younger. She was still easily angered, but she knew how to live with it.

A melodic laughter filled Neji's ears, one he was glad to hear. He really didn't want to deal with a PMSing girl, even if she _was_ his _best friend_. "And how did you know I'd ask sooner or later?" she exclaimed.

Neji smirked. "Hn." This wasn't something he would reveal…

* * *

_Math_

"I guess today we'll just be doing some review…anyway, the truth is, I'm a little too lazy to teach today," Kakashi said, chuckling. The class groaned, but pulled out their math textbooks anyway.

Ino sighed. Math used to be her best subject—well, in elementary. Those days were over, however, when she entered her middle school. Their math was so advanced—she didn't even understand the vocabulary.

"**Kuso, if this keeps happening I can't go shopping anymore, dammit!" **Ino thought miserably.

_Ino, I know that you like to shop, but if you keep failing your math tests, I'll have to force you to stop shopping. _Her father's voice echoed in her head.

_Force you to stop shopping._

_You to stop shopping._

_**Stop shopping.**_

Ino forced herself not to cry. **"Be strong, you can get through this! Don't let forehead girl beat you!"** She studied her textbook and frowned. How did people get this to register in their minds.

'_Bring!'_ "Okay class, your day is over!" Kakashi exclaimed happily, snapping his book shut. Ino's blue eyes became glazed with tears.

"**Who can I study with?...Forehead?…No, Uchiha's helping her…Hinata?...Probably with Naruto…Tenten?...She doesn't seem to be in a great mood today…Shika-kun…ARGH? WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!...Wait, he's smart…"** Ino walked up to Shikamaru, who was stretching from his nap. He opened one eye and glanced at Ino.

"**What could this troublesome woman possibly want?"** Shikamaru thought, eyeing Ino carefully. A devilishly innocent smile was on her face, but her eyes showed pure evil. Evil, and solely evil.

"Ne, Shika-kun," Ino said sweetly. Uh oh. Shikamaru knew _that_ voice. "Cou—"

"—Don't bother. What do you want, troublesome woman."

Ino's smile left her face and her eyebrows furrowed. "Don't call me that. And I need help studying."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "In math, I suppose?" Ino gave a reluctant nod. Shikamaru stood from the desk and began to walk out the door with Ino following. "I suppose that you can't go shopping otherwise."

And Ino seemed surprised for a second, as she stopped. But then again, Shikamaru figured things out pretty quickly. "Yea, that's it…"

"So…who's house?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino began to fidget. "Urm…how about yours? My parents will…probably get the wrong idea…" she muttered, blushing slightly. Shikamaru himself began to blush a bit, but he nodded quickly.

"My parents aren't home anyway...but I can't seem to remember where they are—it's too troublesome."

* * *

"Oh….so that's what it means!" Sakura said enthusiastically. Sasuke sighed in relief. After explaining something about ten times, the girl finally got it into her head. "So even though same-egg twins share the same DNA, it doesn't mean they have the same fingerprints!...That's retarded—why the hell do they call it DNA 'fingerprinting'?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm just glad you finally got it into that think forehead of yours," he remarked. Sakura scowled, but her stomach began to grumble.

Sakura smiled sheepishly. "Ehehe, Sasuke-kun, do you happen to have something to eat?"

Sasuke glanced at the clock. 7:23. They'd been studying over all the subjects, and they were almost done. The only thing they really needed to work on was her history. **"That shouldn't be too difficult to explain…it's my best subject…"**

"Sasuke-kun, do you have anything?" Sakura whined. Sasuke shook his head.

"You could try to make something," Sasuke said, smirking. Sakura sighed.

"How rude, trying to get the guest to cook!" Sakura said mockingly. "But I guess I'll try…Do you really trust that my food won't poison you?"

Sasuke smirked. "I really doubt it," he said. "Where would you get a tutor then?" Sakura laughed.

"Whatever," she replied, a smile on her face. "I'm going to hunt for some ingredients in your fridge."

"Aa. Do what you please."

* * *

"How are you today?" Hinata said in English.

"Fine, thank you," Naruto replied, grinning happily when Hinata gave a nod of approval. "And you?"

"Good. What did you do today?"

"I studied for a...big test," Naruto replied uneasily. Hinata clapped.

"That was wonderful, Naruto-kun. Could you please read this sentence?" Hinata asked, speaking in Japanese again. She pulled out a book and pointed to the top line.

" 'Lisa looked at Amy, not saying a word. She was alive, her best friend was alive.' Is that good?" Naruto recited. Hinata nodded.

"Perfect!"

'_Grumble'_ "Ehe, gomen, Hinata-chan, but do you think Neji has some ramen?" Naruto asked. Hinata and him were studying at Neji's, since Hinata's dad would totally flip if he saw them. Hinata just contacted her father to say that she was going to stay at Neji's to study for the finals.

"He might," she replied. "I'll make some if there isn't."

"Arigatou!" Naruto exclaimed as he followed Hinata out of the living room into the kitchen.

Hinata smiled slightly. "Who ever knew that Neji-niisan would have this in here!" she pulled out the ingredients and began to boil the ramen. She sat down with Naruto at the table.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, this is boring."

"…?! What do you want to do then, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Naruto grinned mischievously.

"Let's go spy on Neji and Tenten!"

* * *

"Okay, I pretty much get all the stuff here now, but that was a nice review," Tenten said, sighing. She lay down on Neji's bed as he sat at the desk, flipping through the book to look for something else to review.

"I really can't find anything else…" he said. "I don't think you really needed to study too much. I guess we're done. Wanna get something to eat?" Tenten nodded enthusiastically and jumped up to open the door.

"Naruto?" Neji said, not surprised at all until he saw his younger cousin.

"Gomen, Neji-niisan!" Hinata said, bowing.

"It's fine...Did you make something yet?" Neji asked.

Hinata nodded. "I was making ramen."

Neji sighed. "I guess that'll do…" He inwardly glared at Naruto. It was all his fault that they had to have ramen.

"Great!" Tenten exclaimed. "I'm starving!"

* * *

Ino looked at the set of problems that Shikamaru wrote down and tapped her pencil against the desk. Shikamaru was napping silently on his bed.

"Okay, so you have to multiply that…and you have to switch sides," she mumbled as she wrote down the process for the last problem. "Oi, Shika-kun, I think I'm done!" she exclaimed, dropping the pencil hard on the table to add extra noise.

Shikamaru groaned. "Pass the paper over." Ino got up and gave the paper to Shikamaru, who after analyzing everything for a few minutes, smiled a bit and handed the paper over. He closed his eyes again. "Nice job. Just don't drag me with you when you go shopping."

"Yatta! Arigatou, Shika-kun!" Ino exclaimed, giving Shikamaru a hug.

"Ino, let go!"

* * *

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said softly, yawning. "How much longer do I have to study?" Sasuke looked up from his laptop and then at the time. 11:34. He sighed.

"You can stop now. I told you to hours ago." Sakura gave him a tired smile.

"Uhm, I know. Just a little more, 'kay? Then I'll walk myself home," Sakura said, yawning again as she turned to the book.

Sasuke sighed. "You could stay if you want. I'll just take the couch."

"No, that'd be mean," Sakura mumbled in protest. "Even if it is you."

Sasuke went back to his business, knowing that he couldn't change her stubborn mind.

11:47.

"Sakura," Sasuke whispered as he stood by her. No reply. Sasuke sighed. "I knew you'd fall asleep." He moved her carefully to his bed, making sure that she didn't wake up. He covered her with some blankets and grabbed an extra one from the closet, walking down the stairs to sleep. On his way out, he shut off the lamp and closed the book.

"Good night," he whispered as he closed the door, though he knew she couldn't hear him.

* * *

'_Knock'_

'_Knock'_

"Argh," Sakura said as she sat up, looking at the dark blue covers. "AH! Where am I?!" she exclaimed as she realized she wasn't in her house.

"Sh! Sakura, calm down. You're in my room," Sasuke said as he opened the door. "We have to go to school now."

"W-why?!" Sakura asked, jumping out of the bed.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Because we have the finals today?" Sakura froze and remembered that she was here to study.

"Kami-sama, I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! I took your bed!" Sakura said sincerely. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, just comb your hair and get ready. You're a total mess," Sasuke said, leaving the room smirking. He leaned on the other side of the door after he closed it as he listened to Sakura's screaming. The knob began to shake and he opened the door.

"Ready?"

"Hai!"

"Can you do the test?"

"…"

"You'll do fine, stop worrying. Need some breakfast?"

"…"

"Okay…we'll stop by Starbucks on the way. We're early anyway."

"YAY!!!!!" Sakura exclaimed, hugging Sasuke very tightly. "CAFFEINE!"

* * *

"Sakura. Let. Go. Now."

"Okay!"

"I'll be handing it out now," Kakashi said. When every student got a sheet, Kakashi said a quick, "Start," before returning to his book.

"**Wah! This is **_**way**_** too easy!"** Sakura thought as she scribbled down the answers to the history test.

Sasuke glanced at her sheet and smirked. **"I guess last night did help a bit. It's good she had some extra caffeine today, otherwise she would've fallen asleep."**

The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion, with everyone taking tests. The school seemed a bit dull and gloomy, since everyone was so quiet. During lunch, students would be studying for their next test or sobbing because they didn't study well enough, though most did the former. Therefore, lunch became quiet as well, with only a few whispering to each other on how complicated the tests were.

* * *

_The next morning…_

Konoha decided to post the top 100 results to see which students did the best. Each year had their own bulletin with the rank, name, and score of the person.

Of course, Hyuuga Neji was first within the second year students, having a full score out of every test. It was not a new fact; he had done the same the year before.

Uchiha Sasuke, not surprisingly, was first within the freshman year. He, too, scored full on every test. The teachers already knew the Uchiha legacy, and the students didn't take him as an idiot.

The surprise was whose name was right below his, with the same ranking.

Haruno Sakura actually managed to do it in one night of cramming.

And right below was Nara Shikamaru, with one point taken off for a mistake he made in his calculations. He was okay with it, considering he slept for most of it.

"Yatta! Arigatou gozaimasu, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed when people began to gasp at the sight of her name. She was actually equal to Uchiha Sasuke.

And Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the sight, but he was actually glad, though he would never admit it. "Congratulations," he said. He scrolled down the list, finding Ino in the seventies and Hinata in the forties.

And Tenten got around the thirties in the second years. Not a surprise, she was quite smart.

But something was yet to surprise _everyone_:

100. Uzumaki Naruto—671/1000

"DATTEBAYO! I GOT RANK 100!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw his name. Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten cheered.

"Congratulations, Naruto!" they exclaimed. Naruto grinned.

"But I couldn't have done it without Hinata-chan!"

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **The _Real_ Birthday Hell—Happy Birthday, Uchiha Sasuke!

"And for today's list of birthdays," the radio host said, "say happy birthday to the heir of Uchiha Inc., Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke stared, horror-stricken, at the radio in the store. The others gasped. This was _not _good. They ran out of the electronics store to find a crowd gathered around them.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SASUKE-KUN!"

Sasuke scowled. His birthday was classified information; only family, friends, and stalkers at school knew about it. Now, it seemed like everyone there knew. Hell, everyone there, _did_ know.

"Shit. Teme, you totally owe us."

* * *

A/N: So a longer chapter for you guys! I've finally posted again, and I'm very happy that I did. I actually posted earlier, too! FOTT and Family Discussions will take a while, however. I'm working on it, but I'll probably post sometime next week. If we're lucky, I'll be able to finish the chapter really quickly tonight. I'll probably finish over the weekend, but I'll post on Sunday or Monday. I'm trying to figure out the time zone, since I'm in China, but things are pretty much okay. I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter, considering it took me forever to write. xD

I noticed, though, that this chapter was a little bit off topic, but I'll kill you if you complain. xD

Anyone ever tried the anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"? If you haven't, I highly suggest it. It's in anachronological, so don't expect to understand it at first sight. :D It's a hilarious anime, but it's a lot deeper than you might think it is…

Okay, that's all! Ja!

Kikoru x3


	14. Chapter XIV: Sasuke's Birthday

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XIV: The _Real_ Birthday Hell—Happy Birthday, Uchiha Sasuke!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"

* * *

**A/N: Well, I don't have much to say today, but thanks for the super quick reviews I got for the last chapter! I knew you all deserved a longer chapter. xD I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun! Your birthday chapter came a little late! But I didn't update late! I just updated earlier last week. xP

Hehe, this reminds me of the story I wrote for tennisxdork.

* * *

"Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as the Uchiha opened his front door. She handed him a small gift wrapped in silver paper. Sasuke poked it.

"**It's soft?"** he thought, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Sakura blushed. "Just open it, would you!" she said hastily.

"Fine. Don't have to be so rushed about it." He ripped open the wrapping paper to see a small doll of him.

"I know it's kinda stupid 'cause it's a doll and you probably won't even play with it even though it took me forever to make the damn thing and I'm sorry if you don't lik—" Sakura ranted but stopped when Sasuke grabbed her bandage-covered hands. "Wha?" He unwrapped the white cloth before Sakura knew what he was doing and sighed.

"Why'd you work so hard on it if you were getting hurt?" he snapped, furrowing his eyebrows. Sakura quickly withdrew her hands and rewrapped the cloth.

"Pfft," she said angrily, "At least show _some _appreciation."

"Thanks."

Sakura sighed. She knew this was the most she would get out of him. "C'mon, we're going to be late. We have to go to the park, remember? We're going to decide with the others on where to go!"

"Hn." Sakura grabbed his hand and led him on, only stopping so he could put the doll away in his room and lock the door.

"Sakura?" Sasuke said after a while.

"Hm?"

"Can you let go of my hand?" he requested, glancing at his hand for emphasis. Sakura flushed and released her grip.

"Oh, sorry!"

Sasuke smirked. "I actually had something else to tell you. My mother and Itachi want me to drop by at the mansion today, since she's leaving in a few days and she wanted to say happy birthday," Sasuke explained, scratching the back of his head, "So…I kinda have to drag all of you along."

"EH?!" Sakura exclaimed, turning around. "But doesn't she want to spend some quality time with you?! You can go now, I'll just explain to the others."

"Nah," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I think she'd like it better if you guys came."

"**Actually, I just don't want to go through the evilness alone…"**

'So you admit it!'

"**Hn."**

"If you insist. But we're probably going there pretty late," Sakura remarked. "Maybe five. Is that okay?"

Sasuke nodded. "I don't think they'll mind that much."

"GOD! What the hell took you so long, forehead?" Ino exclaimed when she caught sight of pink hair. Sakura frowned.

"HEY! At least it's not like when you go shopping!" Sakura shot back. They charged at each other until Tenten stopped them.

"There, there, you two. Wouldn't it be nicer if we had some peace today?" Tenten said tauntingly, and to her surprise, the two girls stopped struggling. They sighed.

"Whatever." Tenten and Hinata laughed.

"So where are we going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "I hope it's somewhere with ramen!"

"I don't know…Maybe Shibuya. It's not as crowded as at night, but still pretty crowded. We could go to Shibuya Station and then walk to the shopping dis—"

"Shi. Bu. Ya. Shopping. District?!" Ino said, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

"Urm, yes, Ino-pig. Maybe we sho—" Sakura began, becoming a bit scared at the way her best friend was acting.

"Shit," Tenten mumbled. **"Shopping district?! What the hell was Sakura thinking?"**

"SHOPPING! WHICH LINE, SAKURA? WHICH LINE!?"

"Yamanote," Sakura said uneasily. "It's pretty close from here…"

"YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ino yelled.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru said, sighing as the group was dragged by Ino.

* * *

_Shibuya Shopping District_

"Okay, Ino. Calm down. We bought you the clothes for now, and we just ate lunch. Breathe slowly and steadily," Sakura said, trying to get Ino to slow down. Ino followed her instructions. "Okay, now, where do you want to go, Sasuke-kun? It's your birthday," Sakura asked without taking her eyes off the dangerous Ino.

"Electronics!!!" Naruto exclaimed for Sasuke.

"Hn. Whatever," Sasuke said.

"Electronics it is!" Tenten exclaimed. "What're you going to get, Neji?"

The Hyuuga prodigy shrugged. He really didn't need anything from there—maybe a new game or two. As they walked through the gigantic crowd and entered the electronics store, they split up to find what they wanted.

"**Woah, everything's so expensive…"** Sakura thought as she looked at the prices of several cell phones.

Ino sighed. If only she had enough to buy something. She glanced to see Sasuke and Neji glaring at each other.

"**Do they **_**like**_** to have glaring contests with each other?"** she thought, raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the screen on one of the buildings caught her attention. She stared at the screen as the pretty, young woman, probably around her twenties, smiled at the camera. She began to talk in a cheery voice, announcing today's special guest, who joined her soon after.

Ino ignored the whole interview until the host seemed to be done with questions and answers. At the sound of the next words, her ears perked up.

"And for today's list of birthdays," the host said, neatening her stack of papers, "say happy birthday to the heir of Uchiha Inc., Uchiha Sasuke!"

Ino's eyes widened. She _knew_ something bad would happen, but she didn't expect it to be this bad. Now, they would be chased by rabid fangirls trying to give "their Sasuke-kun" the "best, love-filled gift in the universe"!

Sasuke stared, horror-stricken, at the screen on the building. The host seemed to taunt him, smiling a big smile. The others gasped. This was _not _good. They ran out of the electronics store to find a crowd gathered around them.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SASUKE-KUN!"

Sasuke scowled. His birthday was classified information; only family, friends, and stalkers at school knew about it. Now, it seemed like everyone there knew. Hell, everyone there, _did_ know.

"Shit. Teme, you _so_ owe us," Naruto hissed, looking for gaps.

"Our best bet is to split in two," Shikamaru said. "Otherwise, we'll be easily visible since we have a pretty big group, and well, they'll be tailing us." The others nodded. "So, I suggest we go now." Everyone split without thinking and rushed through the crowd.

Sasuke had a little trouble getting through, but Naruto managed to distract some fangirls by pointing in a different direction when Sasuke was hiding.

"OH MY GOD!" Naruto shrieked in a fake girl voice. "SASUKE-KUN'S OVER THERE!"

All of the fangirls screamed and rushed over to that direction, forcing other people in the massive crowd to be pushed back.

"GOD DAMMIT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" a man yelled. He was obviously dressed for work, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.

"Teme! Move it before they figure out you're not really there!" Naruto said. Sasuke nodded and they both ran.

"Naruto, wait. Let me send a text message to Sakura and tell her where we're going," Sasuke said, flipping open his cell phone and beginning to text as they ran.

"Where _are_ we going?" Naruto asked.

* * *

'_Ring!'_

'_Ring!' _"Text! Shit, we have no time!" Sakura exclaimed as she flipped out her cell phone. "Ino, give me one of your bags, it's slowing you down!" She took her other hand and grabbed one of Ino's bags.

_From: Sasuke_

_To: Sakura_

_Go to the main mansion. A little earlier than expected but we need to get out of Shibuya. _

Sakura sighed. How were they going to get the others to go there?

"Ino, we're going back on the subway, 'kay?" Sakura said as they crossed the busy street. Ino gave a quick nod.

* * *

'_Ring!'_

'_Ring!'_ Sasuke opened the reply text message from Sakura.

_From: Sakura_

_To: Sasuke_

_How the hell are the other four going to get there?_

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. They probably had to end up meeting at his or Sakura's house.

* * *

_From: Sasuke_

_To: Sakura_

_Just text Hinata or Tenten and tell them to meet at your house. Tell Hinata to text Neji and tell him._

Sakura quickly started a new message. She sent it to Hinata since her name appeared first on the contact list.

* * *

_From: Sakura_

_To: Hinata_

_Meet at my house. We have to get out of Shibuya, otherwise the fangirls will stalk us. _x.x _Don't want that happening. You have to text Neji about this, too._

Hinata almost laughed at Sakura's text message and quickly began to lead Tenten to the train station.

"We're going to Sakura-chan's house," Hinata said, informing Tenten. "She says the fangirls will follow us otherwise." Tenten nodded, digging through her pockets.

"EH?!" Tenten screamed as they reached the station.

"What happened?" Hinata asked. Tenten scowled.

"Somebody stole my money," she growled. Hinata frowned.

"You still have your metro card, right?" she asked. Tenten nodded.

"I'm pretty glad that I didn't put it back in my wallet. Anyways, there was only about ¥10 in there." Hinata sighed in relief.

"That's good to hear."

* * *

_From: Hinata_

_To: Neji_

_We're going to meet at Sakura's house. We have to get away from the fangirls. And could you buy something for Tenten? She seems a little down after she lost her wallet._

Neji read the text message and stopped by a shop. Shikamaru decided to wait outside, saying it would be troublesome otherwise.

Neji decided to buy a slice of chocolate cheesecake for Tenten. The two went to the train station and got on the train.

* * *

Sakura glanced at her cell phone when she and Ino reached her house. The LCD screen read 3:46. They weren't going to be too early at the Uchiha manor.

Soon after, Sasuke arrived with Naruto.

"It's a wonder how you escaped from those fangirls," Sakura said teasingly. Sasuke frowned.

"It's not as fun as it looks."

"It doesn't look fun at all."

"Hey, guys!" Tenten said as cheerfully as she could. Hinata was smiling uneasily, glancing at the bun-haired brunette beside her.

"Hello, I hope we weren't too late. We probably caught the train a little later than you guys," Hinata said. Sakura gave both a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. We just got here anyways," she replied. Sakura began to furrow her eyebrows after thinking about the way Tenten spoke.

"Tenten, is there something wrong?" Sakura asked. Tenten shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong. Don't worry about me," she said hastily.

"If you say so."

"Oi! Lazy-ass, hurry up!" Naruto yelled when he caught sight of the sauntering Shikamaru, who heaved a sigh. Neji was holding a white bag, which he handed to Tenten.

"Eh? What's this?" she replied half-heartedly. She opened the bag and stared at the chocolate cheesecake.

"CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE!!!" Tenten rushed inside of Sakura's house after she unlocked it. "OH MY GOD! SAKURA, WHERE ARE THE FORKS?!"

"Tenten, calm down! They're in the kitchen in the drawer next to the fridge!" Sakura shouted, rushing in after her friend. The others walked in as well, and comfortably seated themselves in the sofas.

"Thanks, Neji-niisan," Hinata whispered, smiling slightly. Her cousin gave a slight nod.

Tenten came into the room with a half-eaten cheesecake and a fork. She put it on the coffee table for a moment and tackle-hugged Neji.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as she continued to hug the hardly breathing Hyuuga. His face was becoming red from lack of air and embarrassment.

"Tenten. Let. Go," he gasped. Tenten released him and continued to eat her cheesecake hungrily.

Sakura walked into the room. "Well, we're going to the Uchihas' house," she announced.

"Um, Sakura, when did you call Sasuke 'Uchiha', and why didn't we just meet there, then?" Shikamaru asked. "For all I remember, you always called him 'Sasuke-kun'." Sakura laughed.

"No, I mean the Uchihas as in _plural_. We're going to the main mansion!" Sakura exclaimed. Everyone's eyes widened except Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's. "So, let's go! We don't want to be late, ne?"

"How far is it?" Tenten asked, thankfully not getting a sugar rush.

"Not very far," Sasuke replied as he neared the door. He walked out without another glance, and the others couldn't do anything but follow.

* * *

"Sasu-chan! I thought you weren't going to come!" Mikoto grabbed her youngest son and began to rub her cheek against his. Neji snickered. Blackmail, anyone?

"Okaa-san, can you let go?" Sasuke grumbled. Mikoto happily released him and went to hug Sakura.

"Urm…hello, Mikoto-san. It's good to see you, too," Sakura managed to say. Mikoto let go and began to laugh evilly.

"You could just call me 'okaa-san' if you like!" she exclaimed, laughing like a maniac and causing Sakura and Sasuke to blush.

"Urm…wouldn't that….be a little….inappropriate?" Sakura stuttered. Itachi smirked.

"Not at all, imouto, not at all," he said, patting her head. The others began to laugh. It seemed the Uchiha family had taken a liking to Sakura.

"I see, some Hyuuga children came. Even the heiress," Mikoto remarked after she was done teasing. "Uchiha Mikoto," she said kindly, extending a hand to the two Hyuugas. Neji shook her hand as Hinata bowed politely.

"Naruto! So glad that you're here!" Mikoto said, embracing him. He returned the hug.

"Hello, Mikoto-san!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you've gotten formal as well?" Mikoto questioned.

"Ano, Mikoto-san, this is Yamanaka Ino, my best friend in elementary," Sakura said, pulling the blonde out. "And this is Nara Shikamaru, one of her close neighbors."

While the introductions were going on, Itachi had formed a small pact with Neji.

"Hyuuga Neji, right?" Itachi said. Neji nodded. "How about we make an agreement. Starting tomorrow, since today's his birthday, we'll aggravate my younger brother in any way possible." Neji raised an eyebrow. Uchiha Itachi was indeed a mysterious young man.

He firmly reached for the older man's hand and nodded. "Agreed." Itachi gave a sly grin in return.

"This is Tenten. Her family owns a Chinese restaurant, and the food she makes is great!" Sakura boasted. Tenten blushed.

"N-no, I'm not really _that_ good," Tenten added modestly.

"I'm sure it's wonderful, Tenten!" Mikoto exclaimed. "If you don't mind, I'd actually like you to make a dish for tonight." Tenten's eyes widened.

"B-but, what if you wouldn't like it? I'm not nearly as skilled as the culinary experts working in the Uchiha household!" Tenten said. "I would love to cook for you, b—"

"Well, then it's settled! I suppose I'll take you to the kitchen a little later," Mikoto interrupted. Tenten sighed, but inside, she was filled with pride.

"**I can't believe Uchiha Mikoto asked me to cook for her!"**

"Come, come and sit," Mikoto said, leading them to one of the sitting rooms. She poured some tea for everyone. "Did you guys run into any trouble in Shibuya?"

"How'd you know we went there?" Sasuke asked. Mikoto gave them all a quick wink.

"I have my sources. Anyway, answer the question."

"_Well_, if you don't count having a TV host announce Sasuke's birthday, hitting some traffic on the streets, being forced to buy overpriced clothing, carry it, and then being surrounded by crazy fangirls, no, we didn't run into any trouble at all," Ino replied sarcastically.

"Shut up, Ino-pig! You weren't _forced _to buy all those clothes!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes I was! My heart was nagging me!" Ino yelled back, crossing her arms..

"Pfft, your emotions and thoughts actually come from your _brain_," Sakura shot back. "But maybe you don't have one."

"Tch, as a matter of fact, I _do_ have one, and I actually can contain it with a normal sized forehead!"

"Girls, why don't we st—"

"Well, it's better to be sm—"

"CALM DOWN!" Mikoto yelled. Everyone was silent. "Now, are you two girls _always_ fighting like this?"

Everyone immediately replied with a quick, 'Yes.' Ino and Sakura grinned before hugging each other. Despite this, they were still best of friends, though at times, it was hard to believe.

"Wait, we didn't give Sasuke-san his presents yet," Hinata said.

"Except me," Sakura put in, grinning madly. It was good that nobody was there to witness the morning's moment. Ino sighed.

"AWWW!!! I wanted to see what happened!" she whined.

"So did I!" Mikoto joined in childishly, false anime tears cascading down her cheeks. The Uchiha siblings sweat dropped and inwardly sighed in relief that they didn't become like that.

"It really wasn't all that important…" Sasuke remarked.

"Anything that has something to do with Sakura-chan is _very_ important!" Mikoto shot back, mock glaring at her younger son.

He decided there really was no point in getting into a glaring contest with his mother. I mean, _she_ was the one that invented the Uchiha death glare.

"Here, teme! Hope you like it!" Naruto exclaimed as he handed Sasuke a very thin envelope.

"Dobe, I can't believe you were lazy enough just to buy me a card," Sasuke said. Naruto laughed.

"Just open it! You don't know what it is, _yet_! And I suggest we all give him some privacy!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke gingerly opened the packet in the corner of the room, glancing at Naruto unsurely.

"**I wonder what this idiot gave me…"**

He pulled out a simple card with a quick happy birthday first. Sasuke rolled his eyes. There was another sheet in the envelope, and when Sasuke turned it around, he turned quite red.

Itachi, sensing his brother's uneasiness rushed forward and glanced at his present before bursting out laughing.

It was a photo that Naruto had taken probably during the history exams. In the photo was Sakura, her head down on her crossed hands while she was sleeping. It was obvious that she had finished early in the test, and just happened to be dozing off, since the night before she was cramming.

"Nice choice, Naruto," Itachi said, patting the blonde's head. Naruto grinned, but when he saw a speck of red from Sasuke, he quickly dashed out of the room.

"NARUTO, GET BACK HERE YOU IDIOT!"

* * *

"Okay…who's next?" Mikoto asked when Sasuke and Naruto were back in the room. Sasuke resumed to be quite emotionless, and Naruto made sure to keep his distance from the raven-haired boy.

"Here," Ino said, tossing a package carelessly at Sasuke. He caught it with ease and opened it.

Inside was the video game that Ino happened to notice Sasuke eyeing earlier in the morning.

"I kinda bought it today, since I really wasn't sure what to get you," Ino said, hoping that the Uchiha would find the gift acceptable. He gave a slight nod of appreciation.

He received a special, antique kunai from Tenten. "When I found it, your name was already on it! I was so surprised! When I asked the shop owner, he said that the kunai had your name on it since he bought it from the previous owner. Kinda strange, don't you think?"

Neji handed him back a small memory card. He smirked. "This is how far I've gotten in the game. I suppose you can pick up from where I saved." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He didn't exactly play the game much, so I guess this was going to be a little cheat. "I still have the original copy of my progress however."

Hinata handed him a new, customized MP3. She actually managed to get the Uchiha fan on it. "I'm not really sure if you'll like it, Sasuke-san." Sasuke shook his head, saying that the present was fine.

When Shikamaru came up to him, he couldn't help but say, "Is it that shougi book again?"

Shikamaru grunted. "Actually, no. I actually went through the trouble of getting another gift for you." He pulled out a book on how to relax the eyes and improve eyesight.

"But my eyesight's fine," Sasuke said when he read the title.

"Right now, yes, but after doing some research and asking Kakashi about it, it is said that the sharingan used to make it's clan members' eyesight bad when they overused it. How troublesome…"

"YAY! Now, Sasu-chan, here's the present from your otou-san, Ita-chan, and me! I'm sorry your father couldn't be here; there was a sudden business meeting in Seoul," Mikoto said, excusing her husband and handing her son a gift. Sasuke inwardly snickered when his mother used his aniki's nickname. He hadn't heard it in years. "It was actually Itachi's idea."

He opened the packet to find a set of keys. He raised an eyebrow. "What're these for?"

"Take a guess, little brother," Itachi teased.

"A new house?"

"No."

"...One of those weird hotel rooms?"

"No..."

"A car?"

"No."

"KAMI-SAMA, SASUKE, IT'S A MOTORCYCLE!!!" his mother yelled. He raised an eyebrow.

"But I don't have a license..." Sasuke replied.

"Yes, but you _do_ remember me teaching you last year. You were actually pretty good..." Itachi said. Everyone's eyes widened as Mikoto smiled proudly.

"YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE?!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hn."

"WHAT!?!?!?!"

"Don't worry about anything, Sasuke. I even spoke to your father about this," Mikoto said. Sasuke paled. "He didn't mind, as long as you didn't get into an accident." A sigh of relief.

"So! Who's birthday is next out of you bunch?" Mikoto asked out of the blue.

"INO AND LAZY-ASS SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S—OW!" Naruto yelled when Shikamaru bonked him on the head, a red tint apparent on his face. Ino was blushing as well, but she was angry as well.

"I'M DEFINITELY NOT WITH SHIKA-KUN!" Ino screamed, hitting Naruto subsequently.

"OW! Why does everyone hit _me_?!" Naruto complained.

"Because you're annoying," Sasuke deadpanned.

"WAH! Mikoto-san, Sasuke hurt my feelings!" Naruto whined. Sasuke muttered something that sounded a lot like, 'Suck up.'

"Aw, Sasu-chan, apologize!" Mikoto scolded as she patted Naruto's blonde hair. Itachi began to snicker when the Uchiha heir scowled.

"Why? He just needs some ramen," Sasuke said, uttering Naruto's magic word.

"RAMEN!" he exclaimed.

'_Knock'_

'_Knock'_

"Mikoto-sama, dinner is ready," a maid said at the door. Mikoto nodded and frowned slightly, turning to Tenten.

"I'm so disappointed that I couldn't try some of your cooking," Mikoto said. Tenten waved her hands, standing up from the couch she was previously sitting in.

"No, no, it's really nothing special," she said. "It really isn't. You should be excited about Sakura's baking!" Tenten added. Sakura blushed.

"No! Tenten, I'm not _that_ good at baking—"

"Unless you call cakes that taste like _heaven_ bad," Tenten exclaimed. Mikoto had hearts in her eyes.

"I've always had a liking for sweets! Would you mind making tonight's cake?!" Mikoto requested. Sakura laughed nervously; how could she refuse this offer.

"Uh…sure." Mikoto hugged Sakura tightly.

"Aw, I wish I had a daughter instead of two sons!" Mikoto cried.

The Uchiha siblings frowned slightly. "Hn."

* * *

Dinner was far from quiet, with Uchiha Mikoto being the hostess. Mikoto urged the cooks to make several bowls of ramen for Naruto.

"He's a growing boy! It's natural," she kept saying. Naruto was gladly slurping his ramen. Maybe a little bit too loudly, however.

"So Shikamaru and Ino's birthday's are next. In what month?" Mikoto asked.

"September," the two replied. Mikoto smiled.

"How wonderful. I love the air during that time of year," Mikoto remarked. "Autumn was always my favorite season; the air's so crisp. What are your favorite seasons?"

"Winter," the Uchiha siblings and Neji said. "The cold feels nice." Mikoto sweat dropped.

"**My, my, what dark children."**

"I personally like spring. I like what it symbolizes—rebirth," Sakura said lightly.

Mikoto smiled. **"Well at least not **_**everybody**_** is dark."**

"I prefer spring as well," Tenten said.

"I like summer," both Ino and Hinata said.

"SO DO I!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I definitely don't like winter—there are too many troublesome holidays to buy troublesome gifts for. Summer is too hot, and it rains too much during spring. Autumn is the troublesome beginning of the second trimester, so I think that most of the seasons are troublesome," Shikamaru explained as he popped a piece of shrimp in his mouth.

Mikoto sweat dropped. **"What is with this boy and the word troublesome?"**

"Ah! Sakura-chan, you have to go to the kitchen and bake some cake!" Mikoto exclaimed, seeing that the pink-haired girl was already finished with her food. "The cooks and maids should have already put out some ingredients. If you need anything, just ask them. Sasuke, could you show her there, since you are the only other person that has finished their dinner."

Sasuke sighed and pushed out his chair, getting up and waiting for Sakura to follow him.

"You won't poison me, will you?" he asked, smirking.

"Hmph! Eat at your risk, Uchiha!" Sakura shot back. "Have I poisoned you before?! Why do you always ask?"

"Only one question at a time," Sasuke said. Sakura frowned.

"Bastard," she muttered.

"There's the kitchen," Sasuke said, pointing to a door. "Don't make the cake too sweet."

"I know! You don't like sweets!" Sakura yelled after pushing the doors and cheerfully greeting the servants inside.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

Everyone excluding Sakura was back in the room where they were before, having some light desert.

Unless you were eating everything there, like Tenten.

"Oh my god! This is delicious…but it's still not as good as Sakura's baking," Tenten commented. Mikoto smiled as Tenten downed a chocolate-filled croissant.

"I'm glad you like it, Tenten," she said. She looked around to see everyone except her two sons and Neji nibbling on some pastries that were put out on the table.

Mikoto glanced at the clock. **"Sakura-chan must be trying very hard—it's been hours since I asked Sasuke to escort her to the kitchen."**

'_Knock'_

'_Knock'_

"Mikoto-sama, please go to the kitchen. Sasuke-san's birthday cake it ready, and might I say that Sakura-san did a wonderful job!" the maid exclaimed. Tenten, Ino, and Naruto in particular rushed into the dining room to see Sakura nearing the table with a cake.

And Sakura really overdid herself this time. The cake _actually_ had three layers, which Mikoto drooled at. The cake was covered in chocolate—it looked like dark chocolate.

"**Good, it won't be that sweet—bittersweet," **Sasuke thought. Sakura smiled after placing the cake down.

"I'm sorry it took so long, but I had to make sure that the cake cooled down enough and that the chocolate was able to be solid enough that it wouldn't soak into the cake. Sasuke-kun, I hope it isn't too sweet—I added some coffee ice cream, but only a little. I tried it, and it wasn't too sweet. I was guessing that if you could stand Starbucks, you could probably eat this," Sakura explained.

The cake, was again, three-layered covered in dark chocolate. On every layer there was some whipped cream at the edges that was delicately shaped. At the top, written in neat, white frosting was: _Happy birthday, Sasuke!_ On the top layer's circumference were seventeen candles—sixteen symbolizing Sasuke's age and one for good luck.

"Sakura-chan…" Mikoto said, staring sparkly eyed at the cake, "you…overdid yourself this time…"

Sakura laughed. "Oh, no! I'm used to it, since this is similar to the type of cake that I make for my parents' birthday parties. They tend to be quite big," Sakura commented. "Only because all their business partners come to eat." Mikoto tapped her chin.

'_Ping!'_

"Oh! Yes, I remember going to one of your parents parties maybe last year…? I think so. I don't think you saw me, however. I only brought my husband. No wonder Haruno seemed _so_ familiar. Your mother was actually my best friend…" Mikoto commented. Sakura, Sasuke, and Itachi sweat dropped a bit.

"I was a little sick last year—I just got up to make some cake for them," Sakura explained. Mikoto laughed.

"Let me finish my story! Well, the cake you made was _extraordinary_! I never tasted cake like that, Sakura-chan! You are truly talented. Whoever knew that you and Sasuke would meet! Ohohohoho!" Mikoto exclaimed.

"Well," Sakura said, "the dishes are set. I guess we should sing, ne?" Mikoto clapped.

"Yes, that'd be nice. We must get this over with quickly—Ino and Tenten are staring longingly at your cake, and so am I!"

The lights were dimmed as the candles were lit.

_Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday, dear Sasuke!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

Sasuke quickly blew out the candles and the lights were on again. Sakura began to cut the cake, despite the servants' offers. "No, I'll cut it!" she would say, smiling. "You always have to do so much work when the Uchiha's are here!"

It seemed that _everyone_ in the Uchiha household began to treat her like family…

Especially when her family was away.

"Sasuke-kun, here you go! You get the first piece!" Sakura said cheerfully, handing Sasuke the first piece. He cut a small piece and ate it. "Sorry, it really might be too sweet!"

The cake wasn't really _that_ sweet, since most of the things she used to make it were bittersweet. So it wasn't as sweet as Sasuke thought it would be. It was just on the border—meaning it was sweet enough, but not so sweet that'd he'd hate it.

"So…is it sweet?" Sakura asked while everyone ate their cake. She wasn't going to eat until Sasuke gave her an answer.

"Yes," he replied. Sakura frowned. "...But...it's not too sweet." Sakura smiled.

"YAY! NOW I CAN EAT!" Sakura exclaimed, jumping for her delicious cake. She picked up a piece and began to eat. Everyone, including Sasuke, got seconds, and a few even got thirds. One of those few were Mikoto.

"Yare, yare, Sakura-chan, you definitely make superb cake," Mikoto commented as she slid down in her chair. Itachi nodded in agreement.

"_I_ even managed to eat this," Itachi said. "Like Sasuke, I don't really like sweets."

Mikoto sighed. "If only I could bring a bit to Fugaku to try...Oh, dear, what time is it?"

"8:23," Ino said, glancing at the designer watch she bought that morning. "_8:23_!!!!!!!!!! My dad's gonna kill me if I can't make it home by nine! Ja!" Ino rushed out of the room.

"I guess Neji-niisan and I should be getting home as well—my father wants us home by then as well, since we went out so early," Hinata said, motioning to Neji to leave. "Ganbawa."

"I need to help my parents with the late shift since I took the day off. I have _no_ idea why they're open so late and _why_ people still come! Arigatou, Mikoto-san! I'll cook something for you another time!" Tenten exclaimed rushing out.

"My parents aren't home, but I'm tired," Shikamaru said, yawning. "Ja!"

"NOOOO! Iruka is going to kill me! I promised to help finish up some paperwork today!" Naruto yelled, running out. It seemed that once reminded of time, one was in a rush. "Thank you for the cake, Sakura-chan!"

When everybody left, Mikoto sighed. "It seems so quiet once everyone leaves."

"Ah, Mikoto-san, I don't have to go anywhere yet. Do you need me to help you with some dishes?" Sakura offered. Mikoto shook her head.

"Iie, the maids will take care of it. Why don't you and Sasuke go home? Itachi will be staying in his old room—he needs to drive me to the airport tomorrow morning," Mikoto said, escorting the two to the door. "Good night!"

The two walked in silence as the sky was slowly darkening. It was summer, so it got dark a little later. Small stars were starting to appear.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, are you sure the cake wasn't too sweet?" Sakura asked.

"Aa."

"I'm glad. Thank you for walking me home!" Sakura said, going inside.

"**Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me…"

* * *

****Next Chapter Preview:** Beach Party! Jealousy Ensues! Friends, Meet Guilt

"Ah! The ocean air smells so nice!" Tenten said, stretching her arms.

"Uhm," Sakura said, nodding. "It's so soothing."

"Aren't you glad that you can swim now, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Yep!" Ino glanced around the beach until something caught her eye.

"Oh my god! Guys, look at those hotties over there!" Ino exclaimed. The girls, however, were oblivious to the glares that the boys were giving them.

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope you guys are satisfied with this chapter. Sorry that the preview was a bit boring, and that the title was a little bit misleading!

I'll get working on it soon, Quiet Moon, just need a little more info from you. PM the genre of the story!

Aw, don't you think all the guys have been soft? Well, watch them be jealous bastards next time. Muahahahhahah! Well, as much as I can make them. Trust me, I'm _not_ going to do a good job.

I would also like you guys to tell me your favorite chapter(s) in this fanfiction. I would really appreciate it, since then I'll know what kind of chapters you'll like and what to plan for future chapters. Thanks!

Kikoru x3


	15. Chapter XV: Beach Party!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XV: Beach Party! Jealousy Ensues! Friends, Meet Guilt

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: I apologize to readers that read FOTT, since the chapter this week was so extremely late. x.x I'll probably have no real schedule for that this summer, since I'm working on a lot right now, and I have like no time.

I also say sorry for making this late. I kinda had to catch up with finishing Everlasting, the sequel/epilogue to Too Late, finishing Acceptance, and finishing the Hyuuga Discussion for Family Discussions (which I'm still working on). I also had problems getting onto the laptop for a few days, therefore could not type. I was also sick with a cold and a stomach virus, so I had to rest for a day. Anyways, enough with the excurse, and enjoy the chapter! Hope it's good enough, though I doubt it will be. It's even shorter than the last two chapters. I've almost got 100 reviews, and you guys really don't deserve this.

By the way, 'nya' is what the Japanese write to portray a cat's sound. It's like the equivalent of the English 'meow'.

**Check out **_**Acceptance**_** for me please! It took me so long to write. And the epilogue for **_**Too Late**_** is posted.**

* * *

Well, what are these eight up to now? It's summer, which can only mean... 

The beach! (Courtesy of Yamanaka Ino)

So, they were heading off to the beach. Supposedly, Ino's father had arranged for a coach bus to take them (come on, they're filthy rich). So, Sakura was waiting outside her house, for the bus of course. However, it just had to be late.

Sakura glanced at her watch, tapping her foot. "I'm never trusting a Yamanaka's service again," Sakura mumbled.

"SAKURA!" Tenten yelled from the window. "INO SAYS, 'SORRY WE'RE LATE!'." Sakura sighed and nodded, picking her bag up from the floor and getting on.

"INO-PIG, WHAT THE HELL TOOK SO LONG?!" Sakura yelled when she got in, staring intently at her blonde friend. She glanced around to find Shikamaru, Tenten, Hinata, Neji, and Sasuke (he lived closer to the Yamanaka's than Sakura) were also in the bus.

"Ehee, well, I had to do my hair," Ino replied nervously. "Sorry," she squeaked, bracing herself for a blow from her pink-haired friend.

Instead, Sakura sighed. "Whatever. We have to go get Naruto now, right?" Sakura said. Ino nodded. "Then why isn't the bus moving?"

"Oh my god," Ino muttered. "The bus driver fell asleep _again_? WAKE UP!" The bus driver grumpily awoke from his sleep.

"Yes, m'am!" the bus driver called before maniacally driving away to pick up Naruto. Sasuke grabbed Sakura and pulled her down to a seat before she went flying.

"Ah, what the hell?" Sakura cried as she fell onto the seat. "What was that—"

"So you wouldn't fly out the window," Sasuke replied in monotone. "This guy's a weird driver. The same thing happened to Tenten. I thought the Yamanaka's could afford more than _this_ guy." He sighed.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT, SASUKE!" Ino yelled. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"

"Hn." After many strange twists and turns, they arrived at Naruto's house to find...nobody. What could it have been? They were already two hours late, and Naruto _still _wasn't outside. Sakura flipped open her phone and called.

After about seven rings, the phone was finally picked up.

"Hello? Naru—"

"Shut up and let me sleep!" Naruto yelled before slamming the phone down. Sakura closed her phone and stomped towards the front door, easily knocking it down.

"NARUTO, GET THE HELL DOWN HERE, **NOW**!" Sakura yelled. She stomped up the stairs and continued to knock his bedroom door down.

Naruto was still in bed, grumbling with his head under the pillow. He popped his head up.

"Sakura-chyaaan!" he whined. "Why'd you come get me?"

"Baka!" she said, hitting him on the head. "We're going to the beach."

Naruto looked blank for several moments. "Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" he exclaimed. "Sorry!" He quickly got up and changed in his bathroom. When he came out, he met an impatient Sakura, tapping her foot.

"We're late. _Very _late," she informed him. Naruto threw his dirty pajama clothes on the bedroom ground before rushing downstairs and grabbing a thermos, filling it with hot water, and dumping a packet of instant ramen in. He sealed the thermos before running out. He turned around and frowned.

"Sakura-chan, what happened to my door?" Naruto asked. Sakura scowled.

"I had to knock it down, idiot."

Inside the bus, everyone was sweat dropping at how Sakura had so quickly managed to knock down _two_ doors.

"Sakura-chan! I have to pay a lot for that!" Naruto protested.

"Don't worry," Sakura said. "I'll pay for the repairs." Naruto sighed in relief before yelling.

"NO! WHAT IF SOMEBODY ROBS ME WHILE I'M GONE?!" Sakura and Sasuke smirked.

"That's your problem," they both said, turning away from the enraged Naruto.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Would you shut up?!" the bus driver called from the front. "It's hard to concentrate on driving when there's so much noise.

"Like you even concentrate," Naruto mumbled, rolling his eyes, but obeying the rotund man.

* * *

"Ino, I think I'm going to barf," Tenten said as she stumbled outside. "That man is trying to kill us, I tell you!" 

Ino scowled. "Hmph, I'm not telling daddy to hire this company anymore," she retorted before sighing, "but we're stuck with this the was back too, though I honestly don't want this fat ass driving us again. How the hell did he even get his license?"

Everyone shrugged. This was a mystery to all of them. They glanced at the chubby bus driver who waddled his way to a fast food restaurant nearby.

"Well, at least we know how he got like _that_," Ino remarked, wriggling her nose in disgust. She shivered. "I'm never going to eat fast food in excessive amounts. _Ever_."

They found a spot on the beach that not many people were occupying. Many children were swimming, laughing, building sand castles, and splashing each other with water. The eight changed into their swimming suits and began to sit down and get some lunch.

"Uh, sorry about the bus ride," Ino said. She smiled sweetly. "I'll treat you guys to some lunch. How about it?"

Free lunch from _Ino_? A once in a life time offer had just come by.

"Sure!" Sakura exclaimed. Ino walked off to get some lunch, oblivious to all the looks many guys gave her. Sakura sweat dropped.

"**And I thought she'd be squealing by now,"** Sakura said as she saw the retreating back of her best friend.

Shikamaru was trying to sleep after he saw what happened. He didn't want to stop being the 'lazy ass' all of a sudden and throw a tantrum because Ino was getting looks from guys.

"**It's not like that troublesome woman **_**belongs**_** to me,"** Shikamaru thought in his head, trying to shake of the fact that he was..._jealous_.

When Ino came back with some burgers and fries, everyone began to eat.

"Ino-chan," Hinata said after swallowing a bite, "I thought you said that you wouldn't eat fast food..." Ino gasped dramatically.

Sakura rolled her eyes. **"That drama queen. Once won't do anything to her, and she knows it, too."**

"Oh no!" Ino exclaimed in a rather fake falsetto voice, "I'm going to get faaaaaaaaaaat!!!"

"No you're not," Sakura said sternly, forcing the burger into her mouth.

"Mmmm! Mmmmph!" Ino was trying to speak before she gave up and began to eat. "Thanks a lot, forehead." Sakura smiled.

"You're welcome. I saved you from being anorexic...for the moment," Sakura replied, grinning widely.

When everyone was done with their food, they sat for a little while as the soft wind cut through the hot air.

"Ah! The ocean air smells so nice!" Tenten said, stretching her arms.

"Uhm," Sakura said, nodding in agreement. "It's so soothing."

"Aren't you glad that you can swim now, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Yep!"

Ino glanced around the beach until something caught her eye. "Oh my god! Guys, look at those hotties over there!" Ino exclaimed. The girls, however, were oblivious to the glares that the boys were giving them as they stared at the four guys in the distance.

They were all surfing on a large wave. The girls could make out their features slightly.

One boy had spiked, dark hair and electric blue eyes. Another had platinum blonde hair, around shoulder-length, and green eyes. One of the other two had their black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, with dark eyes. The last had brown hair that was styled slightly like the first with brown eyes.

The girls swooned over them—at least from afar.

"I wonder where they're from," Ino said, mostly to herself than the other girls.

"Ah..." the other girls replied, sighing dreamily to add an effect.

The four boys that were with them scowled deeply. For some reason, they all felt confusion that the four girls were checking out other guys. So what? It wasn't like they owned them.

"**They can do whatever the hell they want,"** Sasuke thought as he looked down, hiding his blood red eyes. He clenched and unclenched his fists unconsciously.

Neji had a similar thought and looked away, not wanting to witness what was happening. His hands were balled in fists and shaking uncontrollably. Apparently, he was worrying about Tenten _and_ his cousin. Poor, poor Neji.

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear his mind in a futile attempt. **"Hinata-chan will be okay...definitely okay..."**

Shikamaru sighed in defeat, anger, and frustration. He was trying to figure out why he even cared.

When the four surfers began walk their way, the girls had to suppress squeals.

"Oh my god, they're coming this way," Tenten said, jumping for joy.

"I know!" Sakura and Ino exclaimed. They were completely ignoring the guys.

"W-w-what should we d-do?" Hinata said, obviously getting nervous and uncomfortable.

"**Are they just ignoring us now?"** Sasuke thought, raising an eyebrow. **"Better get them to come back."**

"Oi, Sa—"

"Well what might you ladies be doing here?" the boy with blue eyes asked, staring intently into Sakura's green ones. She blushed prettily under his intense gaze.

"**Whoa…this can't be happening!"** Sakura thought excitedly.

However, her inner sighed. 'Sakura, this is just a crush, nothing more. I know you expect me to be flipping out and oogling, but I honestly have a bad feeling about this guy.'

Sakura, uncharacteristically, ignored her inner's misgivings. She shut inner Sakura away, which she was definitely not happy about.

'I'll get out somehow, just you wait,' inner Sakura growled.

And outside, Sasuke was growling as well. The long-haired man went for Hinata, to blonde went to Ino, and the brunette walked up to Tenten. The male Konoha freshmen didn't make a move, however.

"H-hello," Sakura stuttered, "D-do you need something?" The man in front of her laughed. He scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we have some trouble speaking Japanese, since we're from America," the boy explained. His friend's nodded. "Care to show us around? We can't read anything at all, so it's a little difficult. You seem to know this place quite well. By the way, I'm Matthew, but just call me Matt. The blonde's David, the long-haired one is Robert, and the last guy is Mark."

Sakura smiled uneasily. "We could speak in English, if you like. I'm Sakura, this is Ino, Hinata, and Tenten," Sakura said, pointing to them respectively. "Of course we could show you around!"

"Wait a second!" Naruto yelled. "We _all_ came here together! You have no right just to take them away like that!"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, glancing between the boys he didn't even notice before and the girls they just met. "You guys are…together?" Mark asked.

"No," Hinata said rather firmly, "We are not. We are merely...friends." Naruto's eyes widened. Since when was Hinata-chan so...cold to him?! And the way she said friends, it was like they didn't even matter!

"**If you won't appreciate my feelings,"** Hinata thought**, "I'm going to have to let you go, Naruto-kun. I'm…I'm sorry."**

"_Close_ friends in fact," Sasuke added, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, really," Matt replied. "Then maybe we should leave you eight alone. Just to catch up on good times. We—"

"No! No! It's fine!" Sakura said, casting a rather furious glare at Sasuke. "We just need to get changed. See you guys later." The four girls walked of with the other boys, who were smirking triumphantly.

They didn't miss the small snicker and whisper of, "We win," from them, but it seemed the girls, unfortunately, didn't notice.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes further, still blazing red with sharingan. "They're up to something," he said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Despite what the guy said, their Japanese seemed pretty fluent to me," Shikamaru noted.

"No accent at all," Neji added. Naruto nodded. All this was true.

"They didn't look like they needed help," Naruto said.

"C'mon," Sasuke said, pulling his shirt on. "Let's follow them."

"In what?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke smirked. "In the bus of course."

"Do you really think that the bus driver would go through all that trouble?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke smirk widened. "No, but I would."

* * *

"Um, so Matt," Sakura said in her quite fluent English, "where do you guys want to go?" They were at the subway, in front of the map. 

"...Hm...I don't know...what do you think, guys?" Matt said to the other three boys. They shrugged, Robert giving a sneaky smile.

"The mall maybe?" he suggested, an evil glint in his eyes that the girls didn't notice. "Is that alright, Hinata?"

Hinata nodded slowly, unconsciously missing the loud and boisterous Naruto.

They boarded the next train that came and stayed in it until they reached their destination.

"They're going to the mall. Probably the one Ino usually goes to," Shikamaru said after spying on them. Sasuke nodded and drove off with the other three sitting, a blanket of anxiety covering them.

It actually took a while for the bus driver to let them use the bus. Scratch that—_force_ the bus driver to let them take the bus.

"_Oi, bus driver," Shikamaru said, lightly shaking the plump man, "We need to use the bus." The man groaned and refused to be moved, cocking his head to the other side in the well air-conditioned bus. Shikamaru sighed in frustration._

"_Come on! Ino got kidnapped!" Naruto yelled, trying to persuade the driver. Well, it was partially true. _

_The bus driver grumbled and gave them an angry glare. "I don't give a shit! If the Yamanaka got kidnapped, I just have one less nagger to drive!" he replied harshly. _

_Shikamaru sighed again. "Naruto." Naruto grabbed the man by his collar and threw him out of the door with some trouble. _

"_Man, he was heavy," Naruto complained when they were seated and started to drive to the subway station nearby. His cerulean eyes saddened. "If Sakura-chan was here, maybe it'd be easier."_

* * *

While on the subway, each of the girls sat with a boy. It wasn't crowded, since it wasn't rush hour or lunch break. 

Sakura put her hands above her lap, twiddling with her fingers. Matt clapped one of his hands on her hands and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. I think we're almost there," he said, glancing at the map and the red letters that showed the next stop. Sakura nodded and gave him a sweet smile.

She shook her hands a little bit so Matt would take his tanned hand off of her hands. "Thanks, I'm fine now," she said politely.

He gave her a small frown and turned away.

* * *

"So, where do you want to go now?" Sakura asked when they arrived at the busy mall. Matt shrugged, unsure of what to do. 

"Maybe we should grab some drinks?" he said, pointing to a nearby Starbucks. The others nodded.

"Sure!" Ino exclaimed cheerfully as they walked towards the small coffee shop, not noticing that some people were following.

They ordered their drinks while the other four boys sat at the counter there, not wanting to face them. They ordered their own drinks as they watched the girls laugh at jokes the 'American' boys were telling. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he saw Matt pick up one of the menus and point at what he wanted immediately.

"**That doesn't make any sense," **Sasuke thought as he continued to sip his drink.

* * *

Truthfully, Sakura wasn't having much fun. Matt seemed rather…fake? How could she say it? She glanced at the other girls to find them quite fidgety as well. Ino and Tenten hardly spoke, even though they were pretty bold and talkative. Hinata wasn't speaking at all, except for some one word answers. Something was definitely up, and she knew that all of them knew. 

But she tried to ignore it, and she flashed Matt a fake smile. She gasped slightly when he suddenly started to trace up and down her outer thigh, slipping under her skirt, and groping her. She flushed red with anger and resisted the urge to punch him in the face and knock him out.

"E-excuse me, I need to go use the restroom," Sakura said, abruptly standing up and pushing past Matt.

"Me too," the other girls said simultaneously, standing up and leaving behind the suspicious boys. They entered the ladies' room and began to discuss.

* * *

The boys took the opportunity to see what the "American" boys were up to. 

"**They've got to reveal **_**something**_** if the girls aren't here,"** Neji thought, gazing at his coffee, ears perked and listening to the conversation

They made sure not to turn for fear of them recognizing their faces. It would be some kind of disaster.

Mark banged his fist on the table. "I was sure we had them!" he hissed in anger.

"**In Japanese? Wouldn't they feel more comfortable using English?" **Shikamaru mused, obviously getting _very_ suspicious of these people. **"I thought their Japanese wasn't that good."**

"Me too," Robert said, sighing a little. "But I guess we didn't." Matt glared at them all.

"Well, they were hot!" he argued. "We can't just let them go! We haven't even done anything yet!"

Sasuke narrowed his red eyes, fighting the urge to walk up to them and beat the crap out of them. **"Can't ruin this for the others. I just hope Sakura and the others are smart enough to figure this out…they seem suspicious enough."**

"We can't do anything about it, Haru!" David said, directing his gaze to the blue-eyed boy.

"**WHAT?!"** Naruto yelled in his mind. **"Wasn't that Matt? Now he's Haru?!" **All the boys were shocked. They had even changed their identities?! The girls were _definitely_ in some deep shit.

* * *

"I think they're not who they say they really are," Tenten said, immediately starting the discussion when they entered the, thankfully, empty room. 

"Of course not," Sakura said, green eyes blazing with withheld anger. "They were so obvious! Didn't they have trouble reading Japanese? Yet they managed to order without our help?"

"And they believe they can trick us!" Hinata yelled, kicking the tiled wall hard.

"URGH!" Ino screamed, pulling her long blonde hair. "THE BASTARD _GROPED_ ME!! WHAT THE HELL WAS HIS FUCKING PROBLEM?!"

"HE DID THAT TO ME, TOO!" the other three girls yelled simultaneously.

Sakura put her index finger on her chin, tapping her foot idly as the sound echoed off of the bathroom walls. "We've got to get rid of them…"

"But how?" Hinata finished. "They don't seem very willing."

Tenten sighed deeply. "I wish we never ditched Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. It would've turned out better," she remarked, leaning on the sink.

"Well," Ino said sadly, "I can't say they'll be here...They probably wouldn't care. I mean, we ditched them for complete strangers."

Sakura laughed bitterly. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, I wish my parents were around more to reinforce the 'don't talk to strangers' rule."

* * *

"Sorry we took so long," Hinata said sweetly as she entered with the other girls, slipping into the seat again. The drinks came soon, which they all finished while speaking every so often. 

"**Honestly!" **Hinata screamed in her mind**, "can't they keep their hands to themselves?!"** She shifted slightly to avoid the perverted hand, unshed tears glazing her eyes. **"Naruto-kun, I **_**really**_** wish you were here." **

Ino nearly yelled when she felt a squeeze. She gave an unnoticed glare to the blonde. **"Shika-kun, save me."**

They left soon after, walking out of the small coffee shop. Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru waited for a few moments so they wouldn't look too suspicious, making sure to have Sasuke keep his eye on them while they split the bill and followed soon after.

"Split," 'Matt', or rather Haru, muttered to the other three boys as he grabbed Sakura roughly and led her to a dead end in the mall. He had purposely led them here. The others quickly mimicked the movement with the respective girls.

"Guys, I'm guessing each one follow one of them," Naruto said rather seriously. They did as he suggested.

* * *

"Matt! What the hell are you doing?" Sakura said as the boy pinned her onto the wall, gripping her wrists tightly. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but found it to be no use. She felt tears well up in her green eyes. 

'Matt' gave an evil smirk, cupping her cheek lightly. "Honey, I thought you would've figured out by now that my name isn't Matt," he said cruelly, running his fingers over her lips. She quickly retracted them and began to bite her lower lip.

"Get off me," she snarled, glare intensifying by the second. He grinned.

"But I'm not satisfied yet, sweetie," he replied, grin widening.

Sakura spit into his face, disgusted at the way he addressed her. He backed away a little bit, grip still firm on her wrists.

"My, my, aren't we feisty?" He leaned downwards to kiss her roughly, which he never got to do, due to the immense pain that shot up in between his legs and a powerful grip on the collar of his shirt. He was thrown backwards onto the other end of the empty hall.

His blue eyes met blazing red. Haru smirked, wiping a trickle of blood off of the corner of his mouth.

"Ah, Sasuke, jealous?" he sneered, standing up and facing the Uchiha.

"No—"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, standing right next to him. "You're not taking him on—"

"Yes, I am, Sakura," Sasuke said firmly, looking at her emerald green eyes. She smirked at him.

"No, no, you didn't allow me to finish. I want some revenge, too," Sakura said, getting into a stance. "We're doing this together." Sasuke returned her smirk with one of his own.

"What ever you said, Saku-chan, whatever you say," he said. Sakura giggled a little.

"Where'd that come from?" she asked teasingly. He shrugged.

"Just thought of it," he said. He grinned. "Sounds a little like something my mother would call you if you were her daughter."

"You whimps ready yet?!" Haru yelled, getting frustrated at the friendly conversation that was happening.

"More than ever," Sakura called back, smirking widely. "Bring it on, asshole!"

* * *

Hinata was cornered, with Robert breathing hotly on her neck. 

"Could you please back up?" she said firmly, though she felt fear in her. Robert chuckled darkly.

"Why would I, Hianta-chan?" he said. Hinata shivered in fear.

"**I hope I can do this!" **she cried inwardly. **"Gentle Fist Style!" **She tapped his stomach with her hand and he flew backwards, colliding with a wall before sliding down. He clutched his stomach in pain, narrowing his eyes at the Hyuuga heiress.

"I thought I could be nice," he said, "but I guess not."

"You never knew true kindness from the beginning," Hinata yelled, bracing herself for his attack. He brought his leg up to kick her, unexpectedly. She closed her eyes, waiting for an impact.

"**Huh?" **She opened one eye, staring at the sight before her.

Naruto had stopped the man's attack, holding his leg. He had a deep frown on his face—opposing to the more normal smile he wore.

"Che," Naruto spat, "You really have to manners. First you don't let a young woman finish her speech, and secondly, you attack her? Have you ever learned your manners?" He spun his leg, causing Robert to fly back again.

"What's your real name, anyway?" Naruto asked, punching the man in the face. "You live by lying, too?" 'Robert' coughed out a little bit of blood, but he still managed to grin at the blue-eyed boy.

"I'm not obligated to tell you this kind of information," he replied. Naruto grinned back.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto called, motioning for the girl to come over, "help me knock this guy unconscious. Minimum on the blood." Hinata nodded, a small smile gracing her lips.

"**Kami-sama, I'm saved."**

* * *

Tenten glared as she ripped her wrist out of Mark's hands. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, looking around to see if she knew where she was. Her glare intensified when she realized she did not know her location. 

"Why, dear, I just want to spend some time _alone_ with you," he said. Tenten wrinkled her nose in disgust. Sure, this guy was pretty hot at first, but now he was just plain perverted.

"No, thank you," she said, "I'd rather not spend time with a shithead like you." She began to walk away before he pulled her back by the arm.

"I never said this was optional," he growled near her ear. "You're going to stay, no matter what."

"Tch," Tenten said, elbowing him in the abdomen and grinning when she heard the much anticipated groan, "You really think you can keep me here for long?"

He swiped a quick punch at her, which she easily dodged. What she wasn't expecting was for him to run to the other side and try to kick her. But before that happened, somebody caught her.

"Neji-kun!" she exclaimed, smiling in relief. He gave her a quick nod before setting her down on the floor and lending a hand for her to get up. "How'd you get here?!"

"We've..." Neji said, not sure if he should admit the truth, "been kinda here for the whole time."

"I see..." she said, her gaze, however, still fixed on Mark. "What should we do with this guy?"

"Simple," Neji said, not taking his gaze off his target. "We screw him up so much that he'll stay for months in the hospital."

"Agreed."

And they charged.

* * *

Ino tried to hi-kick the pervert, but noticed that he just began to stare at her panties. She frowned and put her leg down immediately, starting to throw some hard punched at him, which he unfortunately dodged. 

She didn't want this to happen. This wasn't _supposed _to happen. She lowered her gaze momentarily as realization dawned on her.

_It was her fault this happened_.

Maybe if she hadn't called the others over, they would still be at the beach or something, with the other guys. And Shika-kun. She missed him a lot more than she thought.

"**I screwed things up for everyone,"** she thought, blue eyes glistening with tears. **"It's all my fault."** She felt a quick yet noticeable gust of wind come towards her be abruptly stopped. She looked upwards and found her favorite lazy-ass standing there with a strong hand on David's shoulder.

"Shika-kun!" she cried with relief. She was so glad the Shikamaru was here to save her!

"Bastard," David hissed, glaring at the genius as he struggled. Who would've known this guy with a pineapple shaped head would be so strong. "What the hell are you doing here? How'd you follow from the subway—I don't remember seeing you on the train."

"We were never there," Shikamaru stated calmly, glancing at Ino momentarily. "We got here in another way. I hope you don't mind that we kicked the bus driver out." Ino almost laughed and shook her head.

"The fat ass needed exercise anyway," she replied.

"Doing it the old way?" Shikamaru said, positioning his hands in a specific way.

Ino nodded and smirked. "It's too bad Chouji isn't here."

"What the hell?" David exclaimed when he tried to move.

"You're trapped," Shikamaru said lazily. "Hurry up, Ino."

"Hai, hai."

* * *

_One hour later..._

"Shanarro, we totally kicked the guy's ass!" Sakura yelled, pumping her fist in the air. "That guy won't know what hit him when he gets up! Wait...he's not going to remember, is he?" Sasuke shook his head.

"He shouldn't. Anyway, we didn't injure him to the extent that he needed to be hospitalized or to the extent where we'd get arrested," Sasuke explained. Sakura sighed in relief until she saw his eyes darken. "So why did you leave us to go with them, anyway?" The question of serious—no tone of playful teasing.

"I...don't know...I honestly don't," she said, almost crying. "I'm sorry...I didn't know...that guy...was some kind of pervert..." Sasuke chuckled lightly.

"You just realized?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Sakura laughed a little.

"Yea, just noticed, Nya-kun," she said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Now, where did _that_ come from?" he asked. Sakura giggled.

"Nowhere, nowhere. You wouldn't know," she answered, smiling. "Just revenge for you calling me Saku-chan."

"Che, that's a once in a lifetime thing there," he said, smirking.

"I know," she said, not looking at him and breaking out into a run, "but Nya-kun isn't!"

"What the hell! Sakura!!!" he said, chasing her through the mall. Sakura stopped when she spotted Tenten with Neji.

"Hi, Tenten!!" she said, running behind her friend and using her as a shield. "Save me from the evil Nya-kun!"

"Nya-kun, who's that?" Tenten said, turning her head slightly before she saw Sasuke running, a scowl on his face. She sweat dropped.

"**They sure fight for the strangest reasons."**

Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto came by right when Sasuke stopped running, still glaring at the Sakura who was behind Tenten's back. She squeaked.

"Help! Nya-kun's going to kill meeeeeeee!" she screamed, running to Hinata and hugging her, fake tears falling from her eyes.

"Um...what?" Ino exclaimed, staring at the laughing Tenten, who was clutching her stomach. "Who's Nya-kun?"

Tenten pointed an unsteady finger at Sasuke. Ino's eyes widened, and she began to laugh hysterically as well. Naruto joined soon after, with Neji smirking and Hinata stifling her laughs. Sasuke scowled, but it was replaced by a quick yet slight smile when Sakura grinned crazily and began to giggle.

"Hn."

* * *

"Hey, are we still going back to the beach?" Ino asked, looking at her watch. They were all back in the bus, with Sasuke once again in the driver's seat. "It's only five, we still have time. Anyway, the beach is pretty nice around sunset. There aren't too many little kids squealing for no reason." They all laughed, knowing that Ino wasn't too good with kids. 

"Sure! Let's go back!" Sakura exclaimed, excited to be going back to the ocean. Her mother used to always take her when she was younger, and if she didn't, Sakura would go with Ino and collect seashells. **"I wonder if I still have that collection somewhere in the attic."**

"Ino-pig!" Sakura said, sliding into the seat beside her blue-eyed friend, "Do you still have that seashell collection from way back when?" Ino nodded quickly. "You still wanna add to it? I know it seems childish…"

Ino ruffled Sakura's hair, grinning happily. "Aw, forehead-girl, you want to relive the good ol' days?" she asked teasingly. She gave Sakura a quick hug.

When they arrived at the beach (at a rather scary pace) they piled out of the bus and set up their towels and umbrellas again. All the girls looked for some seashells before piling them in an empty water bottle and announcing a sand castle building contest.

Sakura whipped out a tube with eight sticks in them. "There are four different types of sticks: red, blue, yellow, and unmarked. They're marked, or not at all, at the tips, which you can't see right now. Whoever has the same type of stick is your partner!" she declared. "And no trading!"

She pointed the tube at Ino, then Hinata, and she went around one by one. She took the last one herself, to see that everyone was already paired up except Sasuke. She glanced at her unmarked stick and then at his own unmarked stick.

"Okay! You got an hour!" she yelled, pulling Sasuke to a place. She sat down on the sand, pondering about the plan she was going to use to construct this one.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, you have any ideas?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Just build one." She frowned and picked up a handful of wet, squishy sand chucking it at Sasuke's head. Sakura laughed when she saw the boy wipe it off his face, with sand still stuck in his raven hair.

"Sakura, that's going to take forever to get out of my hair," he stated, glaring at her. She stuck her tongue out.

"I. Don't. Care!" she said, running away, trying to avoid any sand that would sink. When they heard the pink-haired girl scream, everyone turned to see Sakura with sand all over her head.

"SASUKE!!!" she yelled, throwing several handfuls at him, which he returned. "Ouch! Stop it!" However, despite her angry words, she was laughing.

Naruto saw this as an opportunity and threw a large amount at the youngest Uchiha. He laughed loudly. "Take _that_, teme!" he exclaimed, ducking quickly when he saw a sand-ball flying at him.

He heard a gasp and turned to see the other blonde with a large amount of sand stuck in her hair. The ramen lover quickly pointed to Sasuke. "He did it, not me!" he exclaimed, but it was too late. Ino had thrown, and he once again, dodged.

This time, it just happened to hit the very concentrated Neji, who growled and death glared. Tenten began to laugh at him, causing him to throw sand in her face.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. Shikamaru sighed when the sand-ball happened to hit him. He shook his head, only to get several small drops onto Hinata.

"SAND FIGHT!" Naruto yelled, launching several sand-balls at everyone.

"BRING IT ON, NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, catapulting a large amount to the others. Everyone joined in afterwards, and they threw sand-balls until they were exhausted. In the end, they all jumped into the ocean to get the sand out, since there were, unfortunately, no showers. They all changed into their regular clothing, and were lying down on their towels.

"I guess the contest never happened," Ino said, giggling. She stared as the sun started to set. She sighed happily. "This was a better day than I expected."

"I guess," Tenten replied. She began to doze off after she yawned. "I'm tired."

* * *

_The next morning..._

The next morning, the teens were awakened by the sunlight. Sakura blinked open her green eyes and sat up, rubbing her face.

"Where are we?" she said drowsily. When she glanced around her to find her friends on towels and sleeping she screamed. "WE'RE STILL AT THE BEACH?!"

Tenten, Ino, and Hinata bolted up immediately. "MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO KILL ME!!" they yelled. Sakura sighed.

"Mine aren't here," she said, "I'm in no trouble." Ino sighed in relief.

"Oh, yea, they left this morning before the bus driver came," Ino said, laying back down.

Tenten frowned as the others began to wake up. "...Guys, me and Hinata-chan are still in some—"

"Actually, my father is away as well," Hinata said, smiling sympathetically. "Sorry."

"But my parents are going to kill me!!!" Tenten exclaimed. "I don't wanna die!!!"

"I'll explain everything, Tenten," Ino said, as she began to pack up. The others followed her actions. "Anyway, this was supposed to be my responsibility."

"Aw!! Ino-pig's growing up!!!" Sakura exclaimed, squeezing her friend in a tight embrace.

Ino coughed. "Let. Me. Go. Please. Must. Breathe."

* * *

"Gomen nasai," Ino said, bowing politely as Tenten entered her house. Her parents shook their heads and gave her a smile. 

"It's really no problem, Ino-san. Anyway, Tenten didn't have work," her mother said, grinning widely.

Tenten turned quickly. "Really?"

"Yes, really," her father said, smiling. "I thought you might've forgotten. Anyway, we knew you were safe."

"Especially since that kind gentleman Neji was there," her mother teased. Ino grinned, nodding, as Tenten blushed deeply.

"Ja ne, Tenten!" Ino said, skipping back to the bus.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** Summer Homework?! Last Minute Help! 

"Hello?" Ino said, picking up her phone reluctantly. She wanted to spend the last day of summer vacation in peace. How dare this person disturb it!

"_Hey, Ino-pig!"_

"**Sakura."** "Yea, what," Ino replied sleepily.

"_Just wanna remind you to do your summer homework! I'm going out today with Tenten! Don't bother looking for me!" _

'_Click'_

Ino sat there to let the information sink in.

"WHAT?! SUMMER HOMEWORK?!!!"

* * *

A/N: Done. So sorry it took so long. TT.TT I'm a failure. Anyways, it's here! 

Review for me please! Almost a 100 reviews!! Kami-sama, this is not true, is it?

Yesh, it is. –slaps self— Dattebayo! Signing off now! Hope you give me some pretty presents!

Kikoru x3


	16. Chapter XVI: Summer Homework!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XVI: Summer Homework?! Last Minute Help!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: Thank you ALL _**SO**_ much for helping me reach 100 reviews! I'm amazed that I actually got that many—I really didn't expect it when I joined FF somewhere around April. I was actually working on a project then. Thank you, again. I really appreciate you guys sticking with this still developing story. This is my _first_ 100 reviews. Thank you for the C2 that I learned this story got into, courtesy of **eleanaleone**. I really appreciated that. Thank you for all the favorites and alerts that keep finding their way into my lovely inbox. I always feel great when I see something from there. :D You guys rule. I feel great to have people like you. 

Gah! Now, I'm going to just apologize for all the future late chapters I will make (and this one). I must tell you all that my updates during the school year will _not_ be regular. It really won't be. x.x I'm so sorry, but it's just that my school will be dumping a large amount of work onto me. Of course, I'll still try. But you knows, I can only go to a certain extent.

So I'm trying to read the Suzumiya Haruhi novels. So long. But quite entertaining. I'm bored, what can I say.

Please note that the Japanese take four mid-term/final tests a year, and once a year during the autumn, they have an all-day mock test. Just want to clarify that for some people that might be confused. I probably won't describe the others. Maybe I'll just mention a little bit.

And I apologize to those that liked the old uniform. I'm changing it to a more traditional one. It's describe below. If you're not sure what it looks like, just look up School Rumble. The uniform is similar.

**tru-viet**, since you were my 100th reviewer, I will award you with something (if you like). I've recently started to make icons, and well, I'll make one for you if you like. Go check my profile page, and if you like the way that icon there was made, then send me a link to a picture at my e-mail and tell me the color tone you want (blue, purple, green, pink, etc.) along with the words you want on it.

On with the chapter. Hope you like it. I'm sorry that my author's notes are taking up so much space in the chapter. --'

* * *

It was the last, saddening day of summer vacation, August 31. Everyone would have to return to school the next day for the second trimester. In a matter of weeks, or maybe even days, the ground would be covered with colorful leaves, red, brown, orange, and yellow from death. Who knew it could be so beautiful with leaves? The wind would blow harder and it would get frostier by the months. Thus, they were forced to change into their winter uniforms. 

The funny thing was that the principal Tsunade and Jiraiya, the vice principal, actually decided that the uniforms for the girls would be changed, _right now_. The sudden change probably caused many girls who actually liked the uniform to be a little bit enraged, but most of them liked it. They were all sent new ones, including the summer uniforms, free of charge, due to the fact that this was unusual.

The school had gotten it redesigned, and it was now a navy blue blazer with a white blouse underneath. It had a collar and there was a thin red ribbon near the neck. The blazer was slit at the bottom with two triangle-like ends. The skirt was a dark grey. The uniform seemed much more business like compared to the other one. They wore dark blue socks that went a little lower than the knees. The shoes, however, did not change.

And since I took the time to describe the winter uniforms, I might as well briefly describe the summer uniforms. They were similar—the only difference was that the blue blazer was now a vest and the sleeves of the white blouse was rather puffy.

Therefore, we enter the large house of Yamanaka Ino, where she is currently residing alone, with her parents outside on an 'important' business trip. But nothing is more important than _Ino_, right?

The blonde beauty was sleeping in her room peacefully on her lavender bed. No natural light was in the room, since the thick curtains were closed. The sleeping figure's golden hair was sprawled around her. Her eyelids were closed without the slightest twitching. She was in a comfortable and deep slumber, one that would probably take a lot to awaken. Her breathing was soft and even, contradicting to the way her namesake sleeps.

But all wonderful things have to end at some point.

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_ Ino stirred but did not pick the phone up. She covered her head with a pillow.

'_Ring' _

'_Ring'_

"_Hello, this is the Yamanaka residence, please leave a message after the tone with your name and phone number. Thank you." 'Beep'_

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

'_Ri—'_ Ino's eyes fluttered open as she tried to fight the sleep. She didn't even bother to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hello?" Ino said, picking up her phone reluctantly. She wanted to spend the last day of summer vacation in peace. How dare this person disturb it! Thank about a rude awakening.

"_Hey, Ino-pig!"_

"**Sakura. Nobody in the world is as stubborn as her…except maybe Sasuke, but he'd never call me."**

"Yea, what," Ino replied sleepily.

"_Just wanna remind you to do your summer homework! I'm going out today with Tenten! Don't bother looking for me!" _

'_Click'_

Ino sat there to let the information sink in.

"WHAT?! SUMMER HOMEWORK?!!!" Ino jumped out of bed and rushed into her bathroom, turning on the sink and not wasting anytime to splash the cascading water messily onto her sleepy face. She grabbed her towel and dried her face quickly. Grabbing her electronic toothbrush and her toothpaste, she squeezed the white substance onto the bristles of her brush and began to turn the device on, brushing her already pearly white teeth.

After this, she quickly grabbed her summer school uniform, since it was the first one there. Usually, she'd think about what she was wearing, but she really had no time. She had to get working fast, it was already 10:30, and she didn't want somebody to come in and see her in her pajamas. No, that'd be a disgrace, for Yamanaka Ino to be seen wearing her pajamas in front of somebody (of course, there were exceptions). Ino changed out of her blue tank top and black sweatpants quickly—girls like her _had_ to be efficient.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes when he felt his cell phone shaking. He picked it up and groaned into it. 

"Hello?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"_Hey, Naruto! You know who I am, right?"_

"Sakura-chan?" he guessed. It sounded like the green-eyed girl. A light-hearted giggle was heard.

"_Yep! It's me, Haruno Sakura-chan! Anyway, I wanted to remind you that you probably still have some summer homework left—assuming that you started at least __**some**__ of it. I'm sure you have, ne, Naruto?"_

"**Shit, summer homework. When did we have any?"** "Of course I have, Sakura-chan! I'm not that irresponsible!" he exclaimed, feigning and excited mood. "I'm almost done!"

"_Oh! That's great! I almost felt bad, since I have no time to help! I'm going out with Tenten today, so I won't be home. You can finish the rest yourself, right?"_

"Yep! Sakura-chan! I can do anything, dattebayo!" he yelled.

"_Okay then! I have to go catch the train now! Ja!"_

'_Click'_

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Naruto yelled. He lied to Sakura completely—none of his summer homework was done in actuality. He grabbed his school bag and searched through it, frantically pulling out all the books and slamming them onto his desk, that was crowded with pictures of his friends on many occasions.

He subsequently rushed into his bathroom, flipping the lights on and washing his face. He quickly brushed his teeth and ran out of the tiled room. Naruto rushed down the stairs with his black and white sleeping cap and orange pajamas. He remembered to grab his Math book and a pencil on the way—he was actually _decent_ at this subject.

The blonde got some boiling water into an instant miso ramen cup. As he waited for three minutes, he managed to finish the first page of the book before he lifted the paper cap of the cup and waited a little bit longer for the delicious ramen to cool off so he could eat it without burning his tongue. He ended up finishing five more pages, and was immensely disappointed at the fact that the ramen had gotten _too_ cold for his liking.

However, Naruto gulped down the ramen, which was still delicious, with a glass of _not expired_ milk. For once, he actually looked at the label and was glad to find the milk was still drinkable.

Naruto brought his book up back to his room and managed to finish it to his relief.

"Dattebayo! I finished it!" Naruto exclaimed as he abandoned the workbook. His triumph was quickly diminished when he saw the rest of the workbooks. He decided to begin the English one. After all, he just was tutored by _the_ Hinata-chan in it. Maybe he could get through quickly.

* * *

In no time, the blonde girl was sitting at her desk wearing her school's new summer uniform with an English workbook pulled out, trying frantically to finish it. It wasn't too hard, since she had learned English when she was younger from a private tutor she had, who was actually from the United Kingdom. Here and there, she'd even find a few errors in the book, but she would never hesitate to tell Asuma-sensei. He was rather nice towards her, Chouji, and Shikamaru for some reason, like how Kakashi always seemed to favor Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. 

Ino easily finished the book, sighing in relief that her favorite teacher (in secret) wouldn't hate her for life. The only subjects that actually gave out homework books were Math, Modern Japanese, Biology, and English, which she just recently finished. Gai gave 'optional' homework.

"_Run 100 laps in your local park!"_The only other living person that was crazy enough to do that was Rock Lee.

She licked her dried lips and began on the Modern Japanese, which wasn't too hard either. But the teacher, Mr. Tanaka, was a very strict person, and Ino had just barely passed his standards. The workbook he had given was extremely hard.

"**Kami-sama, save me! This is too hard!"** she screamed in her head when she came to a rather elaborate grammar section. After contemplating on the answer, she finally gave up and put it to the newly made 'un-finished' pile.

Math was easier, since she was just recently tutored in it by Shikamaru, and later on Sakura as well. Ino remembered that she almost killed her best friend because the pink-haired girl didn't help her sooner. But Ino knew deep, deep, _deep_ inside that Sakura couldn't do anything about it—after all, she needed to study as well. Sakura had always been one of those people that were perfectionists—even if she excelled in her studies already, she still needed help to study.

But maybe that was just because Sakura crammed all the time? Ino didn't really know anymore, but she knew that's what Sakura would do in elementary.

Ino pulled out an extra sheet of paper, since she couldn't fit all her work onto the page of the workbook. Kakashi-sensei always demanded that the students showed their work, in case they had new or faster methods that were better than the ones he taught. Truthfully, Kakashi admitted that he didn't like teaching from the textbooks—most of the stuff that didn't need the thick book were functions, formulas, and shortcuts he had discovered in his high school days.

One thing that always bothered Ino was that Kakashi was always bitching at them about teamwork, yet he didn't tolerate the 'sharing of answers' as Ino liked to call it. For some reason, _that_ was 'injustice', even though 'sharing' is part of the term 'teamwork'. You all have to share the burden, right?

As Ino finished up at least half of the book, she sighed and stretched. She couldn't do all of this alone in one day, and anyway, she needed help with Modern Japanese. She decided to go with the 'teamwork' method of hers. At least you were allowed to work together.

However, who was she going to get help from, though?

Sakura and Tenten were out of the picture. They had gone off to do shopping or whatever.

Hinata lived too far away. Ino would probably have to take a train to get to Hinata's house, and right now, people were on their lunch breaks, which equals rush hour. Nope, Hinata was _not_ a good choice, even though she was rather smart in the class.

Uchiha Sasuke would just turn down the request—no words were even needed to try and convince this man; you'd be wasting your time. He'd close the door once she asked. This, Ino was sure of...unless she was disguised as Sakura. Then, she might have a chance, but she really didn't want to dye her pretty hair pink. It'd ruin the natural aura it had as well.

Hyuuga Neji.—he'd probably do the same thing as Sasuke, except probably in a more polite way. At least he'd refuse in a nicer way. Anyway, he was in a different grade, meaning he could help her, but in the end, she'd be doing it by herself either way. This was also a lose-lose situation.

Uzumaki Naruto—Ino didn't even want to consider this blond. He was too much of an idiot to do his _own_ homework, and Ino doubted that anyone of the boys would even remind him. Maybe Hinata if she expected him to forget, but most likely not, since they just met this year. Naruto was probably just snacking on ramen. She wouldn't be surprised if he forgot to come to school the next day.

It now leaves Nara Shikamaru. Again. Why was it always this lazy bum! He was smart, there was no doubt, but even Ino didn't believe that he would do his own work. Well, then she was gonna do it. _She _was going to make Nara Shikamaru do his summer homework. Hell yeah!

Wait, that 'hell yeah' was supposed to be Sakura's line. Oops. She wouldn't mind this once, would she?

Ino stuffed all the books, including her English book, into her briefcase-like bag. She threw in a few mechanical pencils, lead, and erasers before she closed the brown bag, grabbed her cell phone, and left the room. Running down the stairs, she opened the front door and grabbed her keys, closing the wooden structure behind her and locking it.

* * *

Naruto managed to finish the English book, and he happily pranced to get another bowl of ramen to enjoy while he took a quick break. However, he did not hesitate to grab his Biology workbook to work on. This was serious work, and Naruto already began to sweat. Some questions in the workbooks Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei picked were _extremely _hard, and he couldn't help but just leave them blank. Hopefully, he wouldn't be punished. 

And just like the timer _'dinged' _after three minutes, Naruto had an idea. He could get somebody to help. He quickly picked up the phone and dialed his childhood best friend, Uchiha Sasuke's number. He was going to get killed, but it was worth the try.

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Sasuke my buddy! I—"

"_Naruto, don't even try to get me to help with your summer homework."_

"But, you have free time! You can spare so—"

"_Actually, I don't have free time. Apparently, Itachi was ordered to go visit our grandparents today by my mother, and she wanted me along, too. Not that'd I'd help you even __**if**__ I had the time to do it. Why not just ask Sakura?"_

"She said she wouldn't be home today!" Naruto whined.

"_Then ask Shikamaru."_

"But he lives too far!"

"_So do I, dobe! If you paid attention, we actually live __**close**__ to each other! I'll be just as far."_

"Fine...but you're closer to the subway."

"_Try Hinata. Look, dobe, that annoying pest I call my 'aniki' is calling for me to go. Ita—SHIT! Why the hell did you do that, Itachi!"_

'_Click' "Your call has been disconnected. If you would like to contact Uchiha Sasuke-san, we suggest you call back another time. We apologize for any inconveniences we have caused for you."_

Naruto sighed, but brightened at the fact that he would be able to go over to Hinata's house. He had never been there except for Neji's birthday, and he really wanted to explore a bit more. He grinned as he finished the page he was doing and packed all his books, getting dressed in an orange t-shirt and some jeans. He carried his bag with him, all the workbooks in there.

And he hoped that he wouldn't get himself killed by Hinata's overprotective father, the head of the Hyuuga clan—Hyuuga Hiashi.

* * *

Ino made a quick trip to her somewhat neighbors' house, which was the Nara residence. It was only about a block downwards. It only took about two minutes to reach the magnificent yet old building. She gingerly climbed the steep, brick steps up to the front door, which was painted white. 

'_Ding dong'_ Ino could hear the melodious sound of chimes as she pressed the brass button that was their doorbell. She waited patiently until the door clicked open, showing a middle-aged woman with dark hair and matching dark eyes. You could see the surprise in her face as she opened the door fully. She wore an apron over her normal attire.

"Hello, who might you be?" she asked quite politely, though Ino could tell that her voice was used a lot, since it was very close to being raspy.

"Hello," Ino said, "I'm a classmate of Nara Shikamaru. If I remember correctly, he lives here."

For a moment, the lady's eyes widened and she gasped, looking up and down at Ino's clothing.

"Oh...did he not go to school today? Did he lie and tell me there was one more day of vacation?" the lady said, eyebrows furrowing, eyes glinting with anger. Before this got any further, Ino decided to explain that she was in a rush since she woke up and ended up wearing her school uniform. The woman sighed in relief. "Please, come in. What is your name?" Ino stepped inside and slipped her shoes off, entering with only her dark colored socks on.

They sat down in the dining room, where an older look alike of Shikamaru sat, reading the local newspaper. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ino curiously.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino," she said, introducing herself and bowing.

"Where have I heard that last name…Yamanaka. Yamanaka…Wait, ya mean Inoichi's girl?!" the man exclaimed suddenly.

Ino stared. "Urm...yes...how do you know my father?" she asked curiously. The man laughed heartily.

"He was my college classmate," he replied. "I helped him find a house here after that fire you had, missy. You're quite a beauty." Ino flushed from embarrassment as the woman hit the man hard on the back.

"How dare you say that! Ino, Shikamaru's in his room right now, up the stairs an—" the woman started. Ino smiled and interrupted.

"Second door to the left. I've been here before, thank you," Ino said, bowing timidly, the opposite of her character. She hadn't expected other people to be here.

"And by the way," the lady said, "my name is Nara Yoshino and this is my husband Nara Shikaku. We're Shikamaru's parents." Ino nodded politely before making her way up the stairs. She knocked loudly on the door.

"Fine, I'm coming, troublesome woman," Shikamaru mumbled from inside. "...You've already got dad whipped, why not call him to help you?" he added, as he opened the door. His eyes nearly widened and he scratched the back of his head. "Ino?"

Ino flashed him a smile. "Yep." She walked into the decent-sized room with only a few things scattered on Shikamaru's desk. Overall, aside from the desk and the un-made bed, it was a very clean room. "Wow, what a clean room."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Not _all_ boys are like Naruto," he said, a little bit offended at the remark. "Anyway, why are you here?" He turned to his desk in his swivel chair and began to check something on his compact laptop. Ino sat on his bed and sighed. "And why are you wearing the new school uniform?"

"Wait!" Ino exclaimed. "How did _you_ know that the girls' uniform changed? You weren't sent one!"

"They posted it on the website for some reason," he said, turning around to face Ino. "So, what do you want?"

Ino smiled sweetly again. "Um...I need you to help me with my summer homework," she mumbled quickly, but not to softly or too fast for Shikamaru to miss what she said. He ran a hand through his hair, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"What do you have to finish still?" he asked. "I didn't do much either. Maybe we can do it together." Ino walked up to the desk, which revealed all the books were for the homework.

"Well, I finished English so far," Ino explained, opening his own English book, to find it blank except for his name, which was scribbled messily. "You could probably copy from me on that. Math...I got that half done. I still have to do everything else. Eheheh, sorry."

"Well," Shikamaru said, "I have Math finished, so you can look at that. I'm doing Modern Japanese now."

"Perfect!" Ino yelled. "I needed help with that subject! The grammar was so confusing!" Shikamaru grabbed Ino's bag and began to flip through the Modern Japanese book.

"I'm just past that part. Aside from the grammer, I guess you can do the rest, right?" Shikamaru asked. "Anyway, I'll probably be done soon."

"Oh, okay," Ino said. "That's good to hear! We can do Biology together. Somebody can start at the last half, and the other starts at the first!" Shikamaru nodded in agreement, too lazy to even argue with Ino anymore. He was _really_ tired since the teachers decided to dump a crap ton of homework for the summer. Summer was supposed to be _relaxing_ not _troublesome_!

Just as Ino was about to copy from Shikamaru's Math and Shikamaru was about to copy Ino's English (which he actually trusted since she actually got 100's in that subject) workbook, a rough yet feminine voice called for them.

"Shikamaru! Bring Ino down! It's time for lunch!" Yoshino yelled.

Shikamaru replied with a quick, 'Coming!' so his mother wouldn't come up and begin to scold him like there was no tomorrow. "C'mon Ino, my mother's _not_ a very patient person."

"Oh," Ino breathed, moving out of the room. Shikamaru closed the door behind him and they descended down the wooden steps. Shikaku sat at the head of the table, politely waiting for the two teens to take their seats next to each other. The table was made out of a light colored wood. There wasn't much to eat: just a plate of chicken, some spinach, tomatoes, and fish, but it was enough.

Yoshino apologized to Ino for making such a mediocre meal. The Yamanaka child just shook her head and said that it was enough, blaming herself for being rude, since she came into the house without consulting Shikamaru or any of the Naras.

The meal went on quite peacefully, much quieter than usual, Shikamaru noted. "My mother usual ends up screaming at the top of her lungs at my dad," he remarked as he ate his bowl of rice. Ino sipped her miso soup quietly, nodding and answering occasionally to the questions the Nara couple asked.

When everyone was finished and Yoshino began to clear the table, Ino offered to help with washing. "No, no, you kids have to study, don't you?" she said, grinning impishly.

Shikamaru whipped around sharply. "How did you know?" he asked. Yoshino ignored the question and left the room with several bowls in her hands.

Ino shrugged and dragged Shikamaru up the stairs harshly. Yoshino looked at Shikaku and grinned again.

"I like this girl," she commented. Shikaku groaned.

"I can see why. Shikamaru's gonna have a burden on his hands when he grows up," he mumbled.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the Hyuuga mansion and rang the bell, unsure of what to say when the maid or butler opened the door. 

"Um..." he mused, scratching his head. The maid stared at him for a while before flashing him a smile.

"Oh, yes you are Uzumaki Naruto-san! Please come in! Hiashi-sama is away at the moment, but Hinata-sama is in her room. Please go into the living room—I will bring her down," the maid said. Naruto sighed in relief when he heard the news of Hinata's father not being there. For some reason, the man had an intimidating aura that would make Naruto nervous.

As Naruto waited for Hinata in the elaborate living room, his cerulean eyes began to sadden. He began to feel some guilt—I mean he was just going to copy off of Hinata. Wasn't that a little...mean? And she'd have to waste her time helping him. Maybe this wasn't a good choice.

Naruto began to stand up and tell another maid that he was going to go home instead. He made up a rather lame excuse about just remembering having to help his friend get to his grandparents' house. As he was in the middle of his story, the timid Hyuuga heiress entered the room. Naruto stopped talking immediately and faced Hinata, putting on a fake grin.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted, smiling charmingly. "What do you need today?"

"I...forgot to do my summer homework, and some of the stuff I need help with," he muttered, sapphire eyes boring into Hinata's lavender ones. "I'm sorry—I won't bother you. I was just about to leave."

"Oh!" Hianta exclaimed. She grabbed Naruto's arm boldly and pulled him to sit down. "Please, you don't need to! I'm free today anyway! Would you like to copy mine?"

"No, that wouldn't be fair," Naruto said firmly, denying the tempting offer. "I just want to ask you for help when I need it."

Hinata smiled again. "Okay," she answered. "I'll just wait by. Anyway, I wasn't doing anything really. Do you mind if I read?"

"Of course not," Naruto said while he laughed. Hinata giggled a little bit.

The dark-haired girl led orange-clad boy down many halls into a spacious, Japanese designed room. The floor was all tatami mats, and in the corner of the room lay a plain futon. The sliding doors led to the closet and there was a low desk with a silver laptop, a small printer, a pencil holder, and a lamp on the opposite corner of the futon. Two drawers acted as the legs for the desk. There were also traditional, rice-paper sliding doors leading into the room and out onto the veranda, which led to a beautiful garden. On one of the walls, there was a television set, very out of place for a moment. Next to the desk was a shelf of books, thick, hard-cover ones. On one side of the room, opposite to the closets, there was one last door that was a lockable sliding door made out of more modern materials. Inside was the neat bathroom.

"Naruto-kun, you can work at my desk. I'll just be reading here," Hinata said, pointing to the door to the veranda. "If you need me just call." Naruto watched as she grabbed a book from the shelf and opened to a page and began to read the red covered book.

"Ah, Hinata-chan," Naruto said nervously. She lifted her head slightly. "Before you get too into your book, could you help me with some problems? I left them blank since I couldn't do them."

Hinata nodded and placed a blue book mark into the book, shutting it closed. She walked over to the desk where Naruto was flipping through pages, trying to find his blank questions, which she patiently explained to him by giving him a few examples.

"Is there anything else right now?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head and grinned widely.

"Nope! Arigatou, Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. He embraced her tightly for a moment. Hinata became extremely red.

"Y-y-y-your w-welcome," she stuttered, back to stage one of the Naruto comfort zone.

Naruto released her and gave her another grin. "What did I say about stuttering, Hinata-chan?" Hinata exhaled deeply and went back to her reading, trying hard to clear her mind of what just happened. But, she couldn't help but smile at the thankful hug she received from her crush.

"**Naruto-kun is such a sweet person, people just need time to appreciate that side of him."**

As Hinata turned to the forty-third chapter of her thick book, she realized that they had already been working for hours. Naruto only occasionally asked questions, meaning that he didn't need too much help...yet. Hinata peeked over Naruto's shoulder to find Math, English, and Biology half finished. Modern Japanese was still untouched.

'_Knock'_

'_Knock'_

The friendly and jovial face of the maid appeared. "Hinata-sama, lunch is ready," she said in a soft voice. Naruto looked up and Hinata nodded.

"Hai! Arigatou, Suzuki-san," Hinata replied. "We'll be right down." Suzuki nodded and left the room, the light tapping of her shoes heard on the wooden steps.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata called. "We should get going. You've already done so much, I guess some food would be good, ne?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and his stomach grumbled. He laughed nervously when Hinata started to giggle lightly.

"Eehehe, I guess I'm a little hungry," Naruto admitted, getting up from his seat and stretching. "Um...do you have any ramen?"

"I think so," Hinata replied when they walked out the door. "If there isn't, I can make some."

"You can make ramen?" Naruto exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

"Well," Hinata said modestly, "it's not _that_ amazing. It's not very good. I was thinking of joining the cooking club this trimester. Do you think I can make it?"

"Of course, Hinata-chan! You're great during home ec.!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "If you don't make it, I'll beat them to bloody pulp!"

"That's not necessary," Hinata said. She seated herself and began to whisper to a maid.

"Megumi, did the cook make any ramen by any chance?" Hinata asked. Megumi shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry, Hinata-san. He already left as well. Today, his father is asking for him to move some new products into their deli," Megumi explained. "I'm afraid we don't have any instant ramen stocked either."

Hinata sighed. "Do we at least have some vegetables, pork, and noodles to make ramen?" she asked. Megumi nodded slowly.

"I...believe so..." she mused. "Are you going to make some?!" Megumi exclaimed with disbelief. Hinata smiled and nodded. Naruto grinned widely when he saw Hinata stride into the kitchen, taking an apron and putting it on.

Hinata pulled out the ingredients and began to work, boiling the ramen noodles and the vegetables. She cut the pork into strips and began to cook them in a pan, spilling some oil onto the black surface.

In about twenty minutes, Hinata was finished, and she entered the dining room with a blue and white bowl of steaming, fresh pork and vegetable ramen.

"Naruto-kun, I hope this was enough. There weren't much of the ingredients left," Hinata explained. Naruto nodded, grinning widely again.

"Arigatou! Itadakimasu!" Naruto exclaimed when she placed the bowl in front of him. She murmured, 'Itadakimasu,' soon after and began to eat her own simplistic meal of rice and beef. She watched at Naruto slurped up the hot ramen and he swallowed, stopping momentarily to savor the flavor.

"This is great, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said. Hinata smiled.

"I'm glad you think so," she said before continuing to eat her lunch. Hinata wasn't one that talked much during meals, because most of the time, nobody was there to share the meal with. Anyway, her father never allowed her to speak while she was eating. It was considered impolite to him.

After a pregnant silence, if you ignored the clicking of chopsticks against china and Naruto's obnoxious slurping noises, both high school freshmen finished their lunches. Naruto let out a satisfied sigh and Hinata politely took a napkin and wiped her already clean mouth.

Hinata stood up and motioned for Naruto to do the same. They sauntered back into her room and resumed their activities in silence. Finally, Naruto couldn't take it any longer.

"Hinata-chan, are you ever lonely?" Naruto asked all of a sudden, not leaving the scientific words in the workbook. "It seems like...you almost seem like you live alone."

Hinata gave him a bitter smile. "Well, my father isn't home much, and I don't talk to him a lot, anyway. Hanabi usually dines at different times than me, since I come home from school later and I have more work," she said, bangs covering her eyes. She quickly returned to her book, but was interrupted the voice she liked to hear again.

"Yea...I kinda know how you feel, but I think school makes up for it. I mean, everyone's there. But you know...sometimes you feel like a nobody...That's why I'm always so loud," Naruto said. "I want to be _known_! Not just somebody that was just some new high school student! One day, _everyone_ will know the name Uzumaki Naruto! Sasuke-teme has it easy—everyone _already_ knows him: the hot pretty boy that's the heir of Uchiha Inc.!

"But, nobody knows Uzumaki Naruto! So, I'm gonna make something out of myself—I'm gonna stay in everyone's memories, so when they grow up and they hear that name, they'll say, 'Yeah, I went to school with that guy!'"

Hinata's eyes widened. She wanted to be known too, but she was always to shy to show it. She was always very quiet, and the only time she would really speak strongly was when she had already contained a lot of her anger or when she was trying to stand up for herself. Naruto suddenly became quiet and went back to do his work. Hinata smiled softly.

"**I hope I can be like you one day, Uzumaki Naruto-kun. There's no doubt that I'll remember you. That is why I admire you."**

* * *

"Kami-sama, I can't believe I finally finished!" Ino exclaimed as she began to stretch, jumping up from the bed. She plopped herself back down soon after to lay down for a while. 

"**Hm...this bed smells good,"** she said, smiling in a relaxing way.

'You got that right!' inner Ino exclaimed inside her head.

"**Wait, **_**what**_** did I just say?!"**

'Shika-kun's bed smells nice!'

"**Like I should believe you!"**

'Trust me! Didn't your motto used to be, "If you don't believe in yourself, than who will believe in you?"'

"**I...I know, but you aren't me!"**

'Then explain the label on my _perfectly normal sized forehead_ that says, "Inner Ino," in big, **bold** letters?'

"**You could just coincidentally have the same **_**first**_** name! I mean, it doesn't say, 'Yamanaka Ino,' does it?! Well, that's because that's **_**me**_**!"**

Inner Ino scowled and took out a black marker and wrote on a sheet of paper 'Inner Yamanaka Ino'. She tied it like a headband on her forehead and stuck her tongue out childishly. Ino rolled her eyes and dismissed this conversation immediately. She didn't want to be a maniac who was speaking to herself.

"Shika-kun, what time is it?" Ino asked to the boy who was checking his e-mail. He glanced quickly at the clock.

"Four thirty-four," he replied, stacking his books back into his school bag with pencils as well. He would occasionally flip through to see if it was his or if it was Ino's. "Here, this one's yours." Ino caught the book that came flying towards her.

"Thanks," she said before stuffing it into her bag hastily, along with her other books. "Ah, that was _so_ tiring!"

"Troublesome work. Why do the teachers give it to us?" Shikamaru muttered. Ino shrugged.

"It's such a stupid concept," Ino spat, clipping her brown bag closed. "I'm gonna get out of here now. I really need to get home. Thanks for the help."

'_Flash'_

'_Boom'_

'_Tip, tap, tip, tap'_

"No! It's raining!" Ino exclaimed as she ran to the window, watching as the gray clouds began to crowd the blue sky and a sheet of rain dropped downwards. "How am I going to get home _now_?! I didn't bring an umbrella."

The trees outside were being blown by the strong winds, causing many of the already dying leaves to scatter onto the ground. Ino frowned. At this rate, she'd have to stay here.

"Just take an umbrella. Give it back tomorrow," Shikamaru said, waving his hand like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ino bit her nails. "Is that okay with you?" she asked as she followed Shikamaru out of the dark room into the bright hallway. They trudged down the stairs to see a worried looking Yoshino.

"Ino, are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked. Ino nodded and gave the older woman a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine. I've walked home in this weather before!" Ino replied, confidence in her voice. Yoshino handed her a dull, black umbrella. She glanced at her son sternly.

"Shikamaru, you take her home, and then come back, _with_ the umbrella," Yoshino said harshly. Shikamaru sighed.

"Why me?" he whined childishly.

"Because we're busy! Now, get moving! Don't let this young lady wait for you!" Yoshino shouted.

"Yes, m'am," Shikamaru grumbled, grabbing the umbrella and slipping on his shoes. Ino waited patiently at the door. Before leaving, she bowed.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Nara-san. I appreciate you and your husband's hospitality," she said before lifting her head and leaving.

'_Click' _

The door closed behind them as they walked straight into the downpour. The tapping of raindrops on the fabric of the umbrella was heard by the two underneath it.

'_Flash'_

'_Boom'_

"Ah!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared of the thunder?" he asked. "It's not really _that_ bad."

Ino managed to half glare. "I've had experiences. Once, my favorite tree in the park was struck, and I was almost crushed if Sakura hadn't pushed me out of the way. It was during the last year of elementary in the springtime," she said.

"I see..." Shikamaru said, deeming this situation to be too troublesome to speak about. They didn't have to walk very far, but their socks were already soaked with the new puddles of rainwater on the gray, concrete street.

'_Flash'_

'_Boom'_

Ino clutched Shikamaru's shirt tightly, surprising him and causing the umbrella to move at an angle that exposed them to the rain. He nearly dropped it, but he managed to grab on soon after.

"Ino, we're getting wet," he said.

'_Flash'_

'_Boom'_

"Ino, please let go. I have to hold the umbrella. I don't want to have a troublesome cold," he reasoned. "I don't think you want one either."

His answer was sniffling.

'_Flash'_

'_Boom'_

"Kyaa!" Ino screeched. "N-no, please don't. Let me stay...let me stay. LET ME STAY!"

"Okay...shh," Shikamaru said, unconsciously stroking Ino's hair. He was never good at comforting people. "It's alright, nothing's gonna happen."

"A-are you sure?" Ino stuttered, already shivering from the cold.

"Yea, let's just get inside first," Shikamaru said, throwing his jacket over her. "You're already shivering." Ino snuggled into the warm coat and calmed down a bit.

"Okay," she said softly.

* * *

'_Drip'_

'_Drip'_

'_Drip'_

Hinata watched as the page of her book became wet and the tapping sound on the metal bars of the veranda. She found her bookmark and stuck it in, closing the book.

"Naruto-kun, are you done yet?" she asked, entering her room and closing the door.

"Yep, just finished," Naruto replied, stuffing his books and pencils into his bag. He switched the light off as Hinata led him out of the room. "I think I'll leave now."

"Okay, I don't think it's raining too hard," Hinata said. Just then, a maid came.

"Hinata-sama, the rain has become very heavy!" she exclaimed. Hinata sighed.

"Please give Naruto-kun an umbrella for him to walk back. I suppose I'll go with hi—"

"No, Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama has just contacted us, ordering us to not let you or Hanabi out of the house until the rain dies down. There is a possibility you'll get sick, and that would anger him," the maid objected. Hinata sighed again and looked at Naruto with sad eyes.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun. I hope the umbrella will help you though," she said.

"It's okay, Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed when they handed him a navy blue umbrella. "I'm going to be fine." He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out the door. "Ja! See ya tomorrow!"

"Hai!" Hinata answered. "Naruto-kun! I'm gonna be like you one day! I'm going to make myself known, without the help of Hyuuga Inc.!"

Naruto turned around with a surprised look, which turned into a grin.

"You do that, Hinata-chan! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled back.

"Be safe!" Hinata called out right before he disappeared.

"I will!"

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **First Day Back to School! Time to Join Some Clubs! 

Sakura stared at the poster on the bulletin board with disbelief before laughing out load with Ino.

**Come and join the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub (U.S.F)!**

President: _Yoshida Mitsuki _

Vice President: _Watanabe Ami_

Come to room 1-5 after school! We'll see if you're a _real_ fan!

The next poster was similar. Almost _exactly_ the same. Both Sakura and Ino laughed when Tenten almost ripped the thing off and threw it in the garbage.

**Come and join the Hyuuga Neji Fanclub (H.N.F.)!**

_Way better than the U.S.F!_

President: _Yamada Hanako_

Vice President: _Aizawa Ayame_

Come to room 2-3 after school! We'll see if you're a _real_ fan, and if you're worthy enough to be able to battle the U.S.F!

At the end of the advertisement was an attached note.

To: Pres. Yoshida Mitsuki

From: Pres. Yamada Hanako

Subject: It's On!

The war it on! H.N.F will _definitely_ win Hyuuga Neji's affections before U.S.F. wins Uchiha Sasuke's! We'll move to him next, so watch out!

Sasuke smirked. "I actually think that Yamada's got something right this time."

* * *

A/N: Again, thank you all for reading this story! I wrote so much at the top, so I think I don't have anything else to say. Ja! 

Kikoru x3


	17. Chapter XVII: Club Chaos!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XVII: First Day Back to School! Time to Join Some Clubs!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: I'm finally writing this. Gah. Well, let me begin by bragging. xD Well, me and tennisxdork are going to co-write under the penname Bell and Judy. Please go check it out in a few days or so. We're working on the first chapter of The Modeling Hell together. Thank you to princessa-luv for already favoriting us, and our individual accounts as well. 

I now have a Geocities with my OWN MADE layout. Yes, I MADE IT! Wow, I finally figured out coding.

FOTT will be very late. I'm moving it from the 'top priorities' seat onto relaxed writing. Please give me some time.

**_The Modeling Hell _**co-written with tennisxdork under the penname Bell and Judy should be up later tonight! Please go read it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Prepare for two-three pages of a pointless conversation!

* * *

"Tenten! Tenten! School, school!" The brunette sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. 

"What is it?!" the girl whined, seeing blurs of pink.

"What do you mean, 'What is it?!' We have school today, silly! I only stayed because of the storm. Thank god I wore my uniform yesterday. It dried pretty quickly, you know..." Sakura mused as she watched her friend bolt up quickly and rush to her closet, a small glimmer of amusement in her green eyes. Sakura sat on Tenten's simple bed and waited for her friend to emerge from the bathroom in the hallway and call her to get out.

Heavy yet quick footsteps could be heard, with screams of frustration, colorful strings of curses, "Are you okay, dear?", and "I'm okay, mom!" being heard constantly. Thumps and crashing of items colliding with the tiled bathroom floor was even more audible. Sakura muffled her loud laugh with a nearby pillow.

'_Ring'_

'_Ring'_

'_Click'_

"Hello?" Sakura said as she picked up her cell phone.

"_I don't have to wait for you, do I?" _The familiar, smooth voice of Uchiha Sasuke sounded from the other side of the line—the one that Sakura liked to hear, but she'd never admit that.

"Oh, no!" Sakura exclaimed, feeling remorse immediately. "Man, did you walk over there?!"

"_Yea, since you were later than usual."_

"Gomen! I forgot to tell you that I stayed ov—"

"_Just forget it. Anyway, you probably wouldn't have gotten to me."_

"Oh, okay...Sorry, Sasuke-kun..."

"_Hn. I said forget it."_

"Uhm, okay, ja. See you at school."

'_Click'_

'_Bam!'_

"Sakura, why didn't you wake me up sooner? Like at seven?! Now we're going to be late!" Tenten whined. Sakura blinked before giggling.

"It _is_ seven. Look at the time," Sakura remarked, pointing Tenten's alarm clock. Brown eyes narrowed dangerously and trailed the movements of the rosette haired girl as she picked up her bag and walked briskly past her.

"C'mon, Tenten, get your bag. Otherwise we'll really be late," Sakura teased. Tenten huffed out a breath of frustration.

"Whatever," she said, dragging her body across the room to get her briefcase.

The girls walked down the stairs together to find the aroma of Chinese meat buns filling their nostrils. Tenten's mother smiled warmly. "I just finished steaming them. You can take some now. I don't think you guys have to leave so soon, and it's bad to go to school on an empty stomach."

"Thank you," Sakura said, following Tenten as she took a seat. "I haven't eaten these in _ages_. How do you make them?"

"Pfft," Tenten retorted, "she buys the frozen types. She's really too lazy to do anything else. Cooks enough already."

Sakura smiled nervously. "Um, I'm sure your mother is capable of making them, she just overworks at the restaurant."

"Yea right," Tenten said, finishing off a fourth bun. Those things were definitely filling. She waited for Sakura to finish her third before she stood up and gave her rather cross looking mother a small embrace. "Ja, okaa-san."

"Uhm, bye," her mother replied. When Sakura gave her thanks and walked out of the room, Tenten began to do the same, only to be pulled back by her mother.

"You should be more like her," the older woman hissed into her daughter's ear. Tenten laughed.

"No can do, missy. Sakura truly is special," Tenten replied, before running to catch up with her friend, who was thankfully waiting at the door for her. She arched a thin, pink eyebrow.

"What took so long?"

Tenten grinned.

"We had a talk, is all. Not to mention I bragged about you." Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to hide an evident smile.

"Whatever. Anyway, what's there to brag about? And I thought only parents did that to show their kids off," Sakura asked.

"There's a lot, Sakura. A lot," Tenten replied, laughing as she closed the door behind her.

"Really? Name them," Sakura challenged.

"Like I'd let you flatter yourself," Tenten sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. The younger of the two girls laughed.

"Maybe, who knows," Sakura said, shrugging. "You're a nice enough person."

"Uh...Sakura," Tenten said, interrupting the conversation. "I think we're going to wrong way."

"Hm?" Sakura exclaimed. "Really? Why didn't you say so earlier! We already crossed a street!"

"Hehe," Tenten said, scratching the back of her head in an embarrassed manner, "I think I was too busy paying attention to the conversation."

Sakura sighed. "Next time, we shouldn't talk that much," she remarked as they waited at the crosswalk. A truck drove by them quickly, missing Sakura by only half a meter. "Wow, close."

Tenten shrugged. "The truck drivers here tend to turn very close to the sidewalk. Maybe you should step back."

"Yea," Sakura said, taking a step closer to Tenten, who was behind her, "Maybe I should...We're meeting up with Neji right?"

"Yep."

"His house big?"

"Hm," Tenten mused. "About your size."

"I see..."

* * *

Sakura waltzed into the classroom to find a smiling Naruto. 

"**He finished his homework?"** she thought in surprise. It seemed even Sasuke was eyeing Naruto suspiciously and they had been best friends/rivals since like...forever. Beside him, Hinata's blushing like crazy. Sakura smiled a little bit. **"Well, at least they have time to socialize. Kakashi-sensei's constantly late—I don't expect him to come early on purpose today. I bet he'd even be late if it was Tsunade-shishou's funeral."**

Sakura slipped into her seat and glanced at Sasuke, resting her chin on her palms with her elbows on the desk. "How was the rest of summer vacation?" she inquired. She swore she saw Sasuke twitch slightly.

"Decent," he snapped.

"Or maybe not," Sakura added. "What happened?"

"And you want to know because?" Sasuke shot back.

"Um...curiosity?" the pink-haired girl answered unsurely. Sasuke smirked.

"Well curiosity killed the cat," he retorted. Sakura stuck her tongue out.

"That means _you_ die, Nya-kun. I'm still spared," she said, grinning cheekily after her green eyes caught a scowl on Sasuke's face.

"Well, I went to my grandparents' house with Itachi in the countryside. The drive was long, there was traffic, it was raining heavily, mud mixed with unknown substances was on the ground of the place, and my grandparents thought we were robbers that were trying to break in," Sasuke said. "So we were stuck in the rain all day, but Itachi still took this as a chance to annoy me."

"..."

"Nothing to say, eh?"

"You talked so much today."

"Just complaints. How was your summer vacation?"

"I had to stay over at Tenten's yesterday, since we went out to do a little bit of shopping," here, Sakura almost thought she heard a snort, "and it started to rain really hard. Also, my house was too far away, and we didn't have an umbrella with us. I guess that's all. I also called Ino and Naruto and reminded them about summer homework."

Just then, Ino dashed into the room, pulling her blazer over herself and sneezing. Shikamaru followed behind slowly, sighing and saying his well known catch phrase.

And Sasuke sneezed once as well. Sakura turned to him. "I'm really surprised you don't sneeze more often," she said.

"Why?"

"Because, the fangirls are always planning on how to get you," Sakura replied. "Thus, they're always thinking about you. If that was the case, you would never stop sneezing, and you'd eventually die of suffocation."

"...Hn. Oh, yea, the lady next door to you came knocking on my door in the evening after I got back and Itachi left asking for you. I think she had something to give you but you weren't home," Sasuke said.

"Hm? Something to give me...Could it be that sewing kit she borrowed?...Okay, I know what it is. But why'd she ask you? There are a bunch of neighbors that are closer," Sakura said.

"Um," Sasuke said rather quickly, looking outside of the window. "I think she thinks that we're in a relationship."

Sakura laughed loudly. "Really? Well, lucky me! Hahahahhaha!"

"I see," Sasuke said, suddenly hiding his more embarrassed manner with a smirk. Sakura frowned. That Uchiha smirk was never good. He leaned very close to her ear and whispered several words. "Then you wouldn't mind if I told you to come over and move in with me, would you? Oh, and sadly it's a _one_ room house, so..."

This caused Sakura to softly hit him on the head, blushing furiously, though his face still held a satisfied grin.

"What did you do? Have a talk with Naruto, Kakashi,_ and_ Jiraiya?!" Sakura exclaimed, even though he knew he was just teasing her. Sasuke shook his head.

"Of course not," he said. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Then what _did_ you do?" Sakura asked teasingly. Time to turn the tables. "Perhaps your actually having dreams about _me_?"

"Never in my life," Sasuke said, still smirking, which startled Sakura. He won again! "It's either nonexistent or a reality."

Sakura blushed an even darker shade of red, which satisfied Sasuke enough, so he stopped talking. Uchihas had their ways with words.

"Moi, you're mean, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whined. "Be nicer, please," she purred, putting her head on the desk.

"Aa."

"Again with these two-letter, not-real-word answers. I thought we were making some progress this morning," Sakura said.

"Hn."

"Are you doing this just to piss me off?"

"Possibly."

"..."

"Ohayo, minna-san!" Kakashi said as he walked into the classroom. Everyone was still lazy from summer vacation, and only Naruto didn't hesitate to accuse him of being late.

"Whoa, what happened to the whole class yelling, 'You're late!'?" exclaimed with surprise when Naruto slumped back into his seat.

"We're too tired," a student sitting in the front row mumbled. Others sighed wistfully in agreement.

"I see...well, truth is that I was catching up with some extra sleep this morning," Kakashi admitted.

"If I'd known that would happen, I would've done that myself," Shikamaru groaned.

"Yea, and you still have the nerve to give us that summer homework," Ino said, sniffling slightly and sneezing. "It made me get a cold."

"Ahaha," Kakashi said merrily. "It was part of the school curriculum—I couldn't do anything about it. Anyway, since it's already second period, I guess some announcements are necessary.

"In about two weeks' time, all clubs, classes, and teams at Konoha High are going to have their own booth or activity for the Cultural Festival. Students on clubs will have to rotate between their class and club, and each organization must have at least three people at the booth or activity. The Cultural Festival is open to everyone, including people outside of the school.

"This means that small children in grade school and junior high will also be coming to Konoha Senior High School. Tsunade-sama asks that you all refrain from using foul language around them," Kakashi said formally, reading from a stack of papers on his desk. "By the way, the building where most club rooms are were under construction, including the archery area. Therefore, the clubs and teams started later this year. All renovations are already complete, so everything should be fine.

"During lunch, you are allowed to look at the bulletin boards to find some team or club you might like to join. Your club will meet at lunch or after school, maybe both, depending on the club's president. Teams will most likely practice after school, and if your club meets during lunch, you must still be back for classes. If you would like to make a club, there is a board that you can pick up from Shizune-san. Forms to join the club are provided by the club's vice president. If there is a sport's team you would like to join, they will most likely ask you to show you what you know before deciding whether or not they'll accept you into their team. That's all. Now, I'd like everyone to pass their homework workbooks to the front of each row to hand in to me."

* * *

_Lunch (the all time favorite period)_

"Hey, Sakura, what are you going to join?!" Ino exclaimed after running out of the room excitedly.

"I'm not really sure. Maybe a sports team? I already had some of the seniors asking me to join the Math or debate team already. But it's such a pain," Sakura moaned. "It's just because of that test score. Maybe I shouldn't have studied."

"Haha," Ino exclaimed. "I the same thing is happening to Shika-kun as well, and I think Sasuke has the same problem. Some people asked Shino, too. Apparently, he's extremely smart. I think the swim team asked for Kiba, and Chouji's probably joining the cooking club with Hinata-chan."

"Oh, I see. So, are we making our way to the usual lunch spot?" Sakura asked, fanning herself with a thin book.

"Ah...no. I talked to the others already, and Tenten texted me to tell all of us to meet at the bulletin board! We're gonna take a look at some clubs!" Ino exclaimed, dragging the confused pink-head to the board. It was pretty crowded, but they managed to squeeze through and find the others.

"Wow, Konoha has a lot of clubs," Ino yelled in awe. Tenten smiled.

"A lot of kids tend to make their own clubs. Most of them are rejected, but these are the ones that survived," the brunette explained.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Look at that one!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at it and laughing. "How did they accept _that_ one?!"

Sakura stared at the poster on the bulletin board with disbelief before laughing out load with Ino.

* * *

**Come and join the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub (U.S.F)!**

President: _Yoshida Mitsuki_

Vice President: _Watanabe Ami_

Come to room 1-5 after school! We'll see if you're a _real_ fan!

The next poster was similar. Almost _exactly_ the same. Both Sakura and Ino laughed when Tenten almost ripped the thing off and threw it in the garbage.

**Come and join the Hyuuga Neji Fanclub (H.N.F.)!**

_Way better than the U.S.F!_

President: _Yamada Hanako_

Vice President: _Aizawa Ayame_

Come to room 2-3 after school! We'll see if you're a _real_ fan, and if you're worthy enough to be able to battle the U.S.F!

At the end of the advertisement was a note.

To: Pres. Yoshida Mitsuki

From: Pres. Yamada Hanako

Subject: It's On!

The war it on! H.N.F will _definitely_ win Hyuuga Neji's affections before U.S.F. wins Uchiha Sasuke's! We'll move to him next, so watch out!

* * *

Sasuke smirked. "I actually think Yamada's got something right this time." 

"But she's such a whore!" Sakura and Ino exclaimed, still trying to stop themselves from laughing.

Sasuke shrugged. "Anything against my fanclub is fine with me," he commented before falling silent again.

"KUSO!!!!!! WHY CAN'T I TAKE THIS DOWN?!" Tenten yelled, frustrated at the sign up on the board. Yamada was going to get even _more_ of those rabid fangirls. Those annoying good for nothing, silly little bitches that thought that owned the world. "THE ONLY REASON THEY WERE ACCEPTED WAS BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS ARE FREAKIN' RICH!"

Many of the students turned to stare strangely at Tenten. She glared and they resumed their chit-chat about the clubs they would join. Most of the crowd belonged to freshmen, while the second-years were few in numbers—they were the ones too focused on getting used to the life at Konoha High their first year to join a club. No seniors were found in the area, except for a few that were advertising their clubs.

"Ano...Tenten-chan, are you joining a club?" Hinata asked, trying to calm her friend down.

Tenten laughed. "No, I'm already part of the archery club. I'm actually the president now, since the president last year was in her senior year," Tenten said, pointing to the paper with the archery club's information.

"Whoa, I never knew that!" Ino exclaimed.

"Me neither...I do not believe Neji-niisan ever mentioned it," Hinata murmured. Nonetheless, Tenten heard what she said.

"Eh?! Even if it was one of the greatest things in my life?!" Tenten screamed. Neji winced at the loudness, and luckily, nobody turned this time—they minded their own business.

"Ah...it didn't seem to be the right time, seeing that the clubs didn't restart and all," Neji said, hoping that it would be a good enough excuse for Tenten.

"Oh! Okay!" Tenten replied cheerfully, a bright smile on her face. "So, what clubs do you guys want to join? Or maybe an athletics team? You know, those need tryouts. Especially basketball and soccer, though in the fall the guys to basketball and the girls soccer. The girls' soccer tryouts are done by Anko, and the boys' basketball tryouts are done by Gai. The weird thing is that they don't coach the teams!"

"Who _does_ than?!" Naruto asked. Everyone else was wondering the same thing.

"Kakashi and Kurenai do," Neji answered simply.

"Kakashi-sensei!?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. "_He_ knows how to play basketball?! And Kurenai-sensei! No way!"

"Yea, I know, weird," Tenten said.

'_Bring'_

"How troublesome. We didn't even get to eat," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Bye, guys," Tenten said as the others walked away from the bulletin boards to their class. Neji stopped when he realized she didn't follow him.

"Tenten...are you coming?" Neji asked, whirling around to face his close friend. Tenten blinked.

"Yea, I just have something to take care of," she replied, giving a smile that clouded her eyes, making it impossible to see of even try to predict her goal.

"Hn." Neji turned back around and began walking.

And there was the sound of shredding, ripping, and muffled, maniacal laughter before quick, soft steps were heard behind him.

"Neji_-kun­_, I'm ready!" Tenten said sweetly, trying to mask her past action, though she was almost sure that Neji wouldn't mind if her knew. After all, she was sincerely trying to help diminish the numbers of rabid fangirls that were out to get Neji.

Bonus: She left the U.S.F.'s ad for Neji to snicker at. And snicker he did.

* * *

After school, most first years quickly rushed out of the classroom to find a club they could get into or try. All the clubs allowed you to get in before joining – then, if you decided you liked it, then you could join and you'd have to fill out the form. 

"Hinata-chan," Sakura asked, "What club is Neji in?"

"He's president of the martial arts club," Hinata answered. "My father wanted me to join that club, but Neji-niisan said that I should be able to join any club I want to. Neji-niisan almost got in trouble with chichue, but in the end, I think he allowed me to join any club. I'm heading to the cooking club. Sakura-chan, are you going to join any clubs?"

"Yes, billboard brow! I've already got my eyes set on the consplay club. I've always liked to design clothes as well, and you get to do that and then dress up! How awesome!" Ino exclaimed, grinning wickedly. "Sakura_-chan_ I honestly think you'd have quite a number of fanboys if you joined me."

"E-e-eh?! How come?" Sakura said defensively.

"Why, haven't you noticed?! I _envy _your figure!! What did you do to deserve that?" Ino yelled. Sakura flushed and hugged herself.

Naruto grinned cheekily. "Ino's right! Sakura-chan is _gorgeous_!" he teased. Sasuke smirked, but kept quiet this time. Shikamaru ignored the conversation completely. Neji had already left to go to his club.

"N-no, I'm just average!" she screamed out of embarrassment. "You should talk to Hinata-chan!"

"Yare, yare, your right, Sakura," Tenten said, grinning as well. Hinata blushed. "But we don't wanna make dear Hinata-chan faint."

"Kyaa! O-o-on-onegai, s-top. And Tenten-chan, you need to go see your club," Hinata remarked. Tenten laughed before running off quickly.

"Ya got that right. Bye-bye!" Tenten said cheerfully before running away and to her club. She met a first year student on the way, who asked her if she was 'Tenten-sempai' which she replied cheerfully to. The girl apparently wanted to join the archery club along with some of her friends.

"Ah! Sure, the archery club would always like more people! Why don't you come with me to try out. I'm sure you'll make it!"

"Arigatou, Tenten-sempai!" the girls chorused, following Tenten like ducklings following their mother.

"Awww, kawaii! Tenten has fans!" Ino squealed.

"You sure you aren't one of them?" Sakura mumbled, arching an eyebrow.

"No!" Ino said. "I'm my own fan!" The others sweat dropped at how self-centered Ino was acting.

"Right," Sakura stated. "So whose joining what?"

"Cooking," Hinata said. Sakura smiled. She already knew.

"Consplay," Ino stated. Sakura glared. She also knew that one (but Hinata-chan was just _too_ sweet to glare at!).

Sigh. "Shougi," Shikamaru said lazily. "This is so troublesome. Why am I even _joining _the club?"

"Figure that out yourself, 'genius'," Sakura replied mockingly.

"Basketball!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Great."

"Hn. The same," Sasuke said coolly.

"Lovely. More arguments." He cocked an eyebrow at Sakura's remark.

"What are _you_ joining."

"I...don't know," Sakura answered truthfully. She smiled brightly. "I guess I'll tour around. So, I guess we're splitting, except for pretty boy and Naruto."

Sasuke scowled at the nickname while Naruto snickered, muttering insults.

"Naruto, you should be glad I didn't call you the most color blind person in the world."

Now it was the Uchiha smirk that appeared, because this _wasn't_ a situation where an _Uchiha_ would _snicker_.

But perhaps Mikoto would giggle.

And maybe Itachi would chuckle.

But no snickering.

Yet.

"Okay, bye guys!" Ino said, running away as everyone split up.

"Hmm...where should I go?" Sakura mused. "Where should I go first..."

She passed a door saying 'Tea Club'.

"**It sounds slightly interesting..."** She slid the wooden door open and walked in nervously, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

A senior she had seen in the hallways often stood up, flashing a warm smile. She had black hair tied in a messy bun, with uneven bangs just over her eyebrows and a few framing her face that went down to her chin. Her eyes were a striking yet soothing blue. She was a person that you could easily look up to--a role model student.

"Hello. I'm Suzuki Hiroko, president of the tea club," she greeted softly in the melodic voice of hers. Sakura smiled back at her.

"Konnichiwa. My name is Haruno Sakura, and I was just wandering around looking for a club or team of some sorts. I'm really not sure what to join." Sakura noticed that there were four other girls inside, all with eyes on her and a cup of tea in front of them. The medium-sized room was draped with translucent curtains, bring in a beautiful filtered light from the window. It was not a dark room, however, yet the only light in there was natural light.

"Oh, that's nice. Would you like to just sit around for a little bit? The club's usually last until five thirty on the first day, so we've got some time. Take a seat," Hiroko said politely, gesturing to an empty seat and subsequently pouring some tea for the visitor. The pink haired girl noticed that Hiroko probably did not want this to be a club where there was a traditional tea ceremony, but her posture was still straight and she was well mannered as she sipped.

"The tea is kukicha. We usually do Japanese tea when we first start, then we span to different countries. We usually figure out a little bit about them and the culture it's from," Hiroko explained. The others would flip through books about the tea, which honestly, Sakura thought was quite boring. But she decided to stay a little bit longer and finish her tea. It was delicious—probably better than her grandmother's kukicha, and she was the one that used to own a small tea shop.

"Mmm…this tea is delicious," Sakura remarked. Hiroko smiled.

"Thank you. I picked the stems and twigs from my grandparents' field one year," Hiroko said. "You see, not many people join this club, and I really don't mind. You are allowed to leave now if you want."

Sakura was struck with surprise. She thought that she'd have to excuse herself to get out of the room. Hiroko glanced at her with her soft eyes as I stood up and bowed.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Suzuki-sempai, for letting me try the tea here. It seems like a wonderful club, but I do not think it is active enough for me. Gomen nasai!" Sakura said hastily, bowing in a ninety degree angle.

"Sakura-san, you do not have to bow so formally to me," Hiroko said. "And please call me Hiroko."

"Hai, Hiroko-sempai! Arigatou!" Sakura left quickly.

"**Well, at least we made **_**some**_** progress,"** Hiroko thought to herself before taking another sip of tea.

* * *

Sakura entered a bright and spacious clubroom to check on Ino at the consplay club. Most of the club consisted of girls—actually _all_ of it did. Four people were sitting at desks with sewing machines and putting together costumes. Sakura blushed at the sight on somebody fixing a French maid costume and bunny girl costume. The school actually allowed this? 

She glanced at the front of the room where six girls, including Ino, were chatting excitedly about their costumes and writing on the board how they could possibly modify it. Ino was wearing one of the outfits that Sakura remembered to be in Card Captor Sakura, a show she and Ino used to love watching and reading when they were younger. She didn't expect Ino to get back into it.

"Hey, Ino-pig!" Sakura called, just poking her head out from the doorway.

Ino turned instantaneously and blushed a little bit, embarrassed that she was wearing such a childish costume, but she walked over anyway. "What is it, forehead?!" she asked in an exasperated tone, obviously trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Awww, you look so adorable in that!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling Ino's cheeks, getting the attention of a purple-haired girl with stunning, light pink eyes. She was very tall and slender, wearing a black, French maid costume. She was very pretty, Sakura could not deny that, and strangely enough, the different attire made her look even more innocent, since the girl, obviously a senior, was one of those popular ones, yet she was also smart, athletic, and quite quiet. Sakura had heard about a girl matching her description that was the class representative of class 3-2.

The girl smiled sweetly. "Are you one of Ino-chan's friends? You seemed to address her very informally," she asked. "I'm Kawamoto Eri. And you?"

Sakura grinned, a grin that was more polite, yet still one that was used with closer friends. "I'm Haruno Sakura. You're right—I was friends with Ino in elementary, and we met up in senior high school again," she said, introducing herself to the obvious president of the club. "I wanted to go see what she was up to. Ino was very eager to join this club. She really wanted to design her own clothes."

"That's why I let her in," Eri said in a smooth voice. "She seemed very enthusiastic about this club. It used to be run by my sister, but she already graduated."

"Kawamoto-sempai, who are you planning to make president after _you_ graduate?" Sakura asked lowly, knowing that the other members would want to know. Eri winked at the two girls.

"Actually, I'm supposed to make the vice president the president, but I can't, since she's graduating with me. So, Ino-chan over here will be...but let's keep low about that information. Ino has excellent skills and looks _perfect_ in every outfit," Eri complimented. Ino stared at her with watery, blue eyes.

"Ne, Kawamoto-sempai, maybe you should try to distract Ino from this. She tends to get...blabbery," Sakura said, trying to look for a word that would fit the description. Eri's pink eyes narrowed for a mere three seconds before they returned to their normal state.

"Ah...arigatou, Sakura-san. You helped me a lot. I'll keep it under control. I'll be counting on you to do my job outside of the club meetings, however," Eri said, winking once more. "Would you care to join?"

"Arigatou, but no, I'm okay," Sakura said, bowing. "Gomen nasai if I happened to interrupt."

"Why, Sakura-san, this is a club that can _never_ be interrupted!" Eri exclaimed before dragging Ino back in. Sakura closed the door behind her and began to walk down the halls.

Suddenly, she saw two rooms across from each other. Each with a club occupying it.

U.S.F. and H.N.F.

How lovely.

Sakura – activate stealth mode.

The 'spy' peeked through the windows of the H.N.F. clubroom to find none other than Yamada Hanako standing on the teachers desk, pointing and speaking loudly, so loudly that Sakura could hear from the other side of the door, to the fangirls.

Sakura shifted her angle to see actually quite a lot of people joining. She didn't have to strain to hear what Hanako was er…instructing.

"First years will address Hyuuga Neji as 'Neji-sempai'! Second years will address Hyuuga Neji as 'Neji-sama'! Seniors will address Hyuuga Neji as 'Neji-san'!" Hanako yelled loudly. Sakura snickered.

This was some good stuff.

Sakura moved swiftly to the other side of the hall to listen to Mitsuki speak. She was surprised that Mitsuki had actually been made the president.

Scratch that, she had _made _the club.

After all, Sasuke was a fellow freshman as well.

"Now, you!...Yes, you! Recite rule number eleven in section five!" Mitsuki commanded.

A nervous squeak of surprise was heard before a small, petite girl pushed her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose and cleared her throat.

"W-we must do all we can to get rid of Haruno Sakura!" she exclaimed. Sakura sweat dropped.

Now they even made a _rule_ to get rid of her?

"**I feel **_**so**_** loved."**

'I know what you mean.'

"You!" Mitsuki exclaimed, pointing to a redhead with blue eyes. "To what extent are we allowed to hurt Haruno Sakura, and how shall she be addressed, unless around Uchiha Sasuke?!"

"We are allowed to hurt Haruno Sakura to any extent, and she shall be addressed as 'Haruno-slut' unless around Uchiha Sasuke!" the girl answered fiercely. Mitsuki smirked.

"Well done, underling."

Truth to be told, that girl looked like a second-year student. Did Mitsuki really have a right to be calling a girl her senior an 'underling'?

Sakura decided to leave at the moment, and decided that Hanako was much stricter and organized. She obviously had all the policy already memorized for her fanclub, but you couldn't guarantee with Mitsuki.

'_WHAM!'_

Sakura's sharp eyes caught Hanako whipping out a stick and slapping it hard against the chalk board. She swore that she saw the girls in the front row wince. How she pitied them.

The rosette decided she'd get out of this war-zone and get back to the more normal clubs.

She entered the shougi room, seeing if she could try to sneak a game with Shikamaru.

Turns out that everyone abandoned their previous partner to join a line leading to where Shikamaru was sitting.

"**Is he really that good?"** Sakura said, sweat dropping and closing the door behind her. She walked up the end of the line to hear several people whispering.

"I can't believe he's beating the president!"

"Yea, I mean that guy just comes in and beats _everyone_ in only _three_ moves _tops_!"

"Eh, Sakura, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru said, glancing at the girl.

Many boys stared at her, mouths open.

Um...did she have some unknown fanclub lurking somewhere?

"Y-y-you're Haruno Sakura," one of them stuttered.

"Um...yes," Sakura answered the non-question nervously.

"Please, do skip us," the guy said, hearts in his eyes. "It'd be an honor if you'd join the club!"

"Um...arigatou gozaimasu," Sakura said, surprised that the president of the club gave up his seat for her.

"So, what brings you here, Sakura?" Shikamaru drawled.

"He knows her?"

"What are they friends?" The two voices were heard in the background.

"Oh nothing. Still looking around you know," Sakura said, placing her piece where she wanted it to be.

"Still? How troublesome. Why not just settle down somewhere?" Shikamaru asked, placing his piece in a position.

"I hope they aren't dating."

"What? Are they?" They continued their ranting.

"Hehe, I guess I'm just fooling around, ya know?" Sakura said, putting another piece in a different spot.

"Yes, I can see that. Usually you can last to at least twenty turns before you lose, Sakura," Shikamaru said. Sakura smiled.

"Yea, I know," Sakura said, getting up from her chair.

"WHAT?!"

"SHE CAN LAST TWENTY TURNS?!" Shouts with a similar message of disbelief were cried throughout the room. Sakura left immediately. Those people seemed like freaks.

She climbed the stairs of the club building to meet the first room on her right.

_The Daily Leaf_

Sakura recognized the name immediately.

It was Konoha High's newspaper. She always loved writing, and she found the paper so extremely diverse with different styles of writing with each author. And it wasn't just some boring old paper that showed the highlights of school—they also had interesting topics that were happening in student life, meaning news that wasn't just from Tsunade. She knew the crew was small, and she just prayed that the president would accept her.

Sakura took a deep breath and entered the room. Seven people were in there, each with their own laptop. The president and editor-in-chief sat at the front.

She was a woman with dark blue hair and dark brown eyes. Only some bangs were covering her forehead, and she wore a headband of pale yellow ribbon.

Sato Ayame.

She was the school newspaper president since her second year, and has never left the post. Though the club building was being renovated, the crew of _The Daily Leaf_ didn't stop working.

This, most of all, included Sato Ayame. She was going to give up her seat the next year, and she had never appointed a vice president.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura," Ayame greeted quickly when the green-eyed girl entered the room. Sakura was a bit startled that she would know her name, but let it slide and greeted her back formally.

"Ano...Sato-sempai, could I...join the newspaper staff?" Sakura asked. The other six gasped slightly and stared at her. Three boys. Three girls, not including the female editor-in-chief, of course.

Ayame pondered a bit, clicking a few times on the laptop. She typed in something quickly and seemed to scan the text before her before giving herself a small yet noticeable smile. She was satisfied.

The dark-haired editor-in-chief looked up from her screen with a apathetic face once again. Sakura fidgeted.

Oh no, she'd done something wrong.

"Ano...I'll go now...gomen nasai, S—" Sakura started before she was cut of my Ayame's rare and bright smile.

"Please, Sakura-san. It'd be a pleasure for you to come. You may take a look at the work over my shoulder for today. You'll officially start tomorrow. I've looked over your works and they are absolutely marvelous!" Ayame exclaimed.

Sakura stared. It was her (secret) dream come true!

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Sakura said excitedly, bowing.

"Ah! Just come over here now!" Ayame ordered impatiently.

"Hai, Sato-sempai!"

"Ayame-chan, Sakura-chan. Ayame-chan! You're part of the staff now—no need for such formalities!"

The other staff stared at the pink-haired freshmen. The same thoughts ran in their heads.

"_How did she get in if she's new to the school?"_

"_Why didn't she need to write a sample?"_

They watched this 'Haruno Sakura' peer gingerly over their editor-in-chief's shoulder, with the senior explaining things every so often.

Sakura smiled.

"**I finally found the place where I want to be."**

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** A Day in the Rain 

"Sakura, why are you still writing for the newspaper? Even Sato's gone," Sasuke asked. Sakura looked up from the screen.

"Oh, gomen, Sasuke-kun. Were you waiting?" Sakura said, saving her work and getting up, hastily picking up her bag.

"Hn." The two walked out towards the gate of the school.

Before long, it began to rain. Hard.

And the two teens were umbrella-less.

* * *

A/N: Woo! I'm finally done with this! Anyway, why don't you guys give me a review for my birthday present? I'd love that really. And please read _**The Things that Friendship Does**_, my new one-shot, and _**The Modeling Hell**_. Thank you guys! I start school in about a week, so I'm sorry if I can't update until a very long while after this. 

Kikoru x3


	18. Chapter XVII: A Day in the Rain

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XVIII: A Day in the Rain

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm to lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: Wow, I really can't believe that I've already written eighteen chapters for this story! I'm extremely happy that I got this far. Very sorry for the wait guys! 

I had a wonderful birthday, I really did. I mean, three of my closest friends made a memories book for me since _March_. How nice are they?

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that my explanation of the Japanese school year was _slightly_ incorrect. They have semesters as well, but the months I had were correct. In this story, the school started _earlier_ than usual Japanese schools, which start in the beginning of April.

Anyway, again, I'm not going to be posting for a while here. No more weekly updates. T.T I'm so terribly sorry, but I have school, and I really can't to anything about it.

But then again, please enjoy. I promise I'll try my best for my fanfiction.

**Can **_**you**_** guess the plot of this fanfic? Send a review in stating what it is!**

* * *

"Ne, Sakura-chyaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Why are you so tiiiiiiiiireeeeeed today?!" Naruto whined. He was standing in front of Sakura and Sasuke's desk, blond spikes messier than usual. His blue eyes showed worry, though truthfully, he sounded like he was trying to piss the one and only Haruno Sakura off. 

Sakura let her head stay on her crossed arms, face down, on the desk. The pink locks were combed, you could tell, yet still astray. She was mumbling a soft, "Go away."

"Hm, what's wrong with Sakura-chan today?" Hinata said when she entered the room and got over to the desk, seeing the others already crowded around the pink haired girl.

"She's tired as hell," Sasuke explained. "I got her one iced coffee and two chocolate chip frappuccinos. She's still tired."

"Ne, Sakura, what did you do?" Ino asked. "I mean, you're _never_ this tired. You were kinda tired yesterday too, though..."

"Mmmmmmmmm!" Sakura sounded angrily. She really wanted some sleep today, and Kakashi's always late. She had plenty of time, why are these people trying to spoil it?

"Shika-kun! Do you know?" Ino asked. "I mean, she's gonna end up _killing_ herself if she gets this tired doing whatever she does!"

"...Isn't Sakura part of the newspaper now? _The Daily Leaf_, right?...How troublesome," Shikamaru mused. "Maybe it's that."

"Sakura-chan, is _that_ why your staying at school so long?" Naruto and Hinata asked simultaneously. If given a different situation, Hinata would have definitely blushed.

"...Huh?! No, I'm fine. Urm...Naruto, Sasuke-kun, which positions did you get for the team? You guys made it right?"

"You already asked that, Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme is the point guard and I'm the power forward!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura blinked.

"Oh, yea...I _did_ ask that," Sakura mused sleepily. "Ehee, I'm sorry."

"Sakura-chan, it's okay, I'm sure, but you really need more sleep!" Hinata said. "You're going to be sent to the hospital from exhaustion otherwise!"

"...No, I'm fine!" Sakura exclaimed after a pause.

"Then why the hell are you sleepy after what I bought you in the morning?" Sasuke asked rather angrily, but really, it was just because he was worried.

Truthfully, _nobody_ can fall asleep after _that_ much coffee.

"Um...it was decaf?" Sakura replied lamely.

"No, it wasn't. You specifically asked me _not_ to get that," Sasuke shot back, raising an eyebrow. Sakura sighed heavily.

"Okay, I'm overworking myself because of the school paper, but everything has to be perfect!" she said defiantly. Ino furrowed her thin eyebrows and frowned at Sakura.

"No, Sakura, it doesn't have to be perfect! Sato-sempai may just be saying that! I'm su—"

"Ino, I know you're concerned, but in the press, you really _can't_ make a mistake like that," Sakura stated firmly. "Everything goes w—"

"Sakura-chan! That's not true!" Naruto said, grasping her shoulders and shaking her. "You're becoming an obsessed workaholic! That's bad for you!"

"Hai, Sakura-chan, you need to take good care of your body!" Hinata said worriedly.

'_Whoosh'_

'_Bang' _

"Ohayo, minna-san. I'm sorry I'm la—"

"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF, SAKURA-CHAN!!!" Naruto yelled, interrupting Kakashi's excuse. The sensei gave a small sigh.

"What's wrong here? Naruto, Hinata, Ino, get back into your seats. What's with all the fuss about Sakura?" Kakashi asked, walking over to the tired student. She squinted her dull green eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei?...Ohayo," she drawled, apparently very sleepy.

"Sakura. Why are you so sleepy?" he asked directly. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine! I'm not tired at all!" she exclaimed. All eyes were on her, and she really _did_ want to get this over with.

"What did you drink this morning?"

"Um..."

'NOT FAIR! THIS'LL TOTALLY GIVE US AWAY!'

"**I know, just shut up!"**

'...What if Sasuke-kun tells?!'

"**He might not."**

'Yea, but even if he denies it, he's _totally_ worried about _us_! Okay, whatever, I'm ditching this whole we're-going-to-get-caught mood. TIME TO CELEBRATE! SHANNARO!'

"Haruno Sakura, answer me now. Otherwise I'll ask Sasuke," Kakashi said, pointing to the classmate adjacent to her.

"How would Sasuke-_kun_ know?!" a fangirl in the room piped up. "It's not like they walk to school together!"

Sakura shook her head furiously, screaming, "NOOOOO!" in her head repeatedly, hoping that Kakashi might have been telepathic. Otherwise, the fangirls would _surely_ kill her!

He seemed to have got the message, since he just smiled and nodded. "No, I was just hoping she drank something in the classroom, is all. You're right, I suppose he won't know," Kakashi replied to the fangirl. A large amount of the female population in the classroom sighed in relief.

Because nobody walks to school with _their_ Sasuke-kun that isn't _them_.

Sasuke, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at Kakashi with a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look. The ash-haired teacher shrugged before returning to the front of the room, pretending as if the problem was resolved and continuing with his morning lectures. He began class soon after.

Seeing that Sakura was still sleeping, Sasuke nudged her to take out her notebook. _She_ actually took notes, and he didn't want that _incident _to happen again where she forgot to take notes.

"Mmmm..." Sakura moaned, yawning and reluctantly pulling out her notebook and pencil. She drowsily watched the board and scribbled slowly, in contrast to how she usually took notes.

"**Wha?...What does that say?..."**

'You think I can see when you can't?!' inner Sakura exclaimed. 'Hmph, you must be mad!'

"**...No, seriously...what does it say?! I'm too tired..."**

'Look for yourself! If you can't see, I can't either!'

Sakura shook her head, rubbing her eyes repeatedly. What was wrong with her vision? She groaned. Now she had to ask!

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, can you read the board for me? My eyesight's a little bit blurry right now," Sakura whispered quickly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but mumbled back the answer anyway.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know!" Sakura hissed furiously. "It's just screwed up today!"

"Are you sure it's not because you're spending _way_ to much time facing the computer screen and trying to edit and finish up all the articles in the newspaper?" Sasuke questioned.

"No, I'm fine!" Sakura replied. "...Really, I am," she finished with a softer voice, adding a reassuring smile. "Sasuke-kun, please don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"Hn."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, somebody's here to see you," Shizune said loudly, knowing that if Tsunade was sleeping, she'd awaken. It was a lot more effective than just knocking on the door. 

When she heard the rustling of papers in a hasty, "Come in," from the blonde principal, Shizune opened the door for the visitor.

"Oh, it's _you_," the amber eyed lady retorted, hiding back a snort.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, it's _me_. Haruno Sakura seemed to be falling asleep in my class."

"Is that so?" Tsunade said, raising an eyebrow the rather reliable staff member.

"Hai. But it's only been so since a few days ago. I also noticed that today, she had to strain in order to take her notes off the board."

Tsunade tapped her fingers on the wooden desk, closing her eyes deep in thought. She walked over to the depressing gray cabinets where she kept all the students' files—grades, past records, permanent records, emergency contact, medical forms, etc. She slid the form that was filled out in the messy handwriting of Haruno Sakura's doctor. Quickly, she flipped through the pages to see where the pink-haired student's 'uncorrected vision' was.

Scrawled in rushed but legible handwriting was:

L: 20/20 R: 20/20

Haruno Sakura's eyesight was perfect, by these records.

Yet why was she having trouble reading the board?

"...Tsunade-sama?"

"Hai...um, you can leave. Thank you for reporting this. I'll check up on her during her lunch period. It should be soon, right?"

"Hai, it's in about fifteen minutes."

"Arigatou."

The door clicked closed in moments, and Tsunade opened the blinds of the window for more natural light to come in. She sat on her desk, still tapping her fingers impatiently in the rhythm of the pattering on her window, pondering on any theories of why Sakura's eyesight was deteriorating.

Or perhaps it was just temporary?

This is what Tsunade concluded.

And what she hoped for.

* * *

_Lunch_

Sakura began to rub her eyes again when Sasuke pulled her hands downward, keeping them away from her face. She looked up and him with confused and questioning eyes.

"If you keep doing that, your eyes will get even more itchy," he replied simply.

"It's true," Hinata put in, "I did that once when I was younger, and my eyes felt like they had dust in them the whole day."

Sakura nodded and wriggled out of Sasuke's strong grip, which he loosened soon after.

"Forehead, why did you keep asking me what was on the board during English?" Ino exclaimed angrily, not unaware of what was happening.

"Really?" Tenten asked. "That's really weird."

"Sakura's eyesight is getting worse."

"Eh?" Naruto exclaimed, turning around to see the principal. "Tsunade-obaa-chan! How do you know?!"

"A teacher reported," she stated, answering Naruto's question. "It was your health teacher, Jiraiya."

"...! Tsunade-sama! Is there something really wrong with my eyes?!" Sakura exclaimed, distraught stricken.

Tsunade paused, pursing her thin, pink lips in a straight line. Her stare was hard, yet seeming to go right through her apprentice, as if she was debating with herself whether or not she should say anything on the matter, or just directly take all of them there.

"Come with me," Tsunade stated after a pregnant pause, realizing that many were starting to gather around. "All of you." The crowd of students parted as the eight followed their principal to the nurses office.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow when other students did not follow. **"I see they actually understand who I'm referring to...A bit uncommon for freshmen, but I suppose it's not unexpected."**

The group of nine entered the small and now packed nurses office.

"Sakura, sit here," Tsunade said, directing the worried girl into a metal stool, with the older woman sitting across from the student. Her light colored eyes glanced at the others in the room as she turned towards them, crossing her legs in the process. Her gaze was full and emotionless, her expression masked by the face she put on for others to see.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade began her speech. "Sakura, according to her medical records submitted this year, supposedly has 20/20 vision in both eyes, meaning she has perfect eyesight, and does not need any correction. However, a problem has occurred where she cannot see clearly from the back rows, a characteristic of nearsightedness. It is very uncommon that she suddenly has problems—her eyesight has been fine until the past few days, and this is usually noticed once you show symptoms.

"However, Sakura obviously hasn't, and until recently, she could see perfectly. Nearsightedness is caused by many things. This includes genetics. Tell me, Sakura, have any of your relatives ever worn glasses, apart from when they age?" Tsunade asked.

"...No, I don't think so. Only my grandparents where them when they have to read, and that's just because they are farsighted," Sakura confessed. "My parents never got contacts or laser surgery, since their eyes have been fine since they were children. It was one of the priorities in my family, strangely enough. I really don't know why..."

"Okay, so we now know that Sakura's vision problem is not caused by genetics, since none of her family members have ever had nearsightedness. The other causes are usually the person's own fault, for example, if they read in the dark too much, watch television too close to the screen, and write with your head down. Have you seen Sakura do any of these things? Do you have any suspicions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand with Sasuke.

"Yes, boys?" Tsunade said.

"The computer after working on _The Daily Leaf_," Shikamaru answered for both of them, knowing that Sasuke had the same idea in mind. "Working for the school's newspaper requires a lot of effort, and we all think that Sakura is overworking herself in the club. It's a rather troublesome club, why join it, Sakura?"

"It's not troublesome!" Sakura yelled angrily. "You think _everything _is troublesome! How woul—"

"FOREHEAD GIRL! LAY DOWN ON THE PMS-ING, WOULD YOU?!" Ino screamed, stopping her friend mid-sentence.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled after a pause, her long bangs shadowing over her usually sparkling, green eyes. "...I'm just stressed, Ino."

"..."

Tsunade inwardly gulped before beginning again, breaking the silent, tension-filled aura around the room. "Anyway, Sakura, that's probably the cause of the nearsightedness. Hopefully, it's just temporary, but for now, please try to lay off from the writing. Ayame is a very understanding president, and I'll speak to her about this. For now, the computer screen will be a little bit bad for you. You won't have to wear glasses, I'll just move you up in all your classes, okay?"

"...Hai, arigatou, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura mumbled half-heartedly. However, she was glad that this was most likely temporary. "Do you need to check my eyes?"

"Ah, yes," Tsunade answered, turning back to the sitting Sakura. She pulled out a pen light and carefully used her thumb and her index finger to keep her student's eye open after slipping on some latex gloves, not wanting to get anything into the eye. The bright light went through and Tsunade watched as Sakura's pupils change in side in the center of the green iris. She did the other eye soon after and nodded, taking her hand away and switching the pen light off.

"Well, it looks like it'll be gone in a while, you just need to rest your eyes and they should be fine soon," Tsunade said. "Now, you guys run along."

Sakura stood up from her seat and bowed. The other's followed suit, filing out of the room silently.

Sasuke, who was at the end of the line, paused before closing the door. His black eyes stared at Tsunade when one of her eyebrows rose.

"What is it, Uchiha?" she asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you," he replied, causing her eyebrow to raise even higher if that was possible.

"Yes...?"

"Make sure that if you make the teachers switch Sakura's seats, you don't put a fangirl next to me," Sasuke stated. Tsunade grinned and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do, Uchiha. But I'm not going to make any promises. If you're put next to a fangirl, it's not my fault you're going to go through hell," Tsunade replied. Sasuke smirked.

"Hn," was all he said before sliding the door behind him. Tsunade sighed.

Did _all_ of the Uchihas use mysterious, two-letter responses?

* * *

_After school..._

"Sakura-chan, are you going to go home now?" Naruto asked while he pushed past the overcrowded doorway. Sakura shook her head.

"No, I'm going to check if Ayame-sempai needs any help that doesn't involve me using the computer," Sakura replied, giving him a small smile. "Please, don't worry about me, Naruto."

The blonde shrugged, flashing her a small grin. "Just be sure not to kill yourself, Sakura-chyaaaaaaaaaannn!" he yelled, running to the gym for practice.

'Don't you even feel bad about lying to Naruto?'

"**Ayame-sempai is not going to let me use the computer **_**anyway**_**!"**

'But you know you're just going to use it after she leaves,' inner Sakura purred.

The offer was tempting, but Sakura tried to push it to the back of her mind as she rushed to the section of the buildings where the club rooms were. Pushing the door open, she saw the frowning face of the editor-in-chief, Sato Ayame.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, but I can't let you work today," she said reluctantly. It was evident that she still wanted Sakura to write. "But, maybe you can do some editing by hand? And afterwards some drafting if you'd like."

Sakura nodded and took out a red pen, flicking the light of the room on to substitute for the gray skies. Seating her self comfortably in the extra desk one of the members found, she began to read the article Ayame handed her quickly, circling, correcting, and rearranging words on the paper. More papers and articles were printed, and in no time, Sakura had a large pile on her desk. Soon after, Mimi, a quiet, pink-eyed (no, she did not have pink eye) second-year student, helped her with the pile, bringing a smaller amount to her own desk and packing her laptop.

Soon, Mimi left as well, squeaking a small, "See you tomorrow," in her explanation before running off, umbrella in hand.

The other five others, excluding Sakura and Ayame, left soon as well, after dropping off their work onto Sakura's desk, which she regarded with a nod and a smile. Ayame was still typing quickly, changing certain spaces from what Sakura and Mimi had edited on the stored in the computer.

Sakura did some of her own drafting on what she was planning to put into the newspaper at the end of next week. Hopefully, she'd be well enough to type it up, edit in, and get Ayame to publish the article.

Sakura smiled at the fact that Ayame had praised her for being especially good at informal writing, which was exactly what they needed for the group. All the other members' writing style tended to be traditional, including Ayame's, which she happily admitted to.

She continued writing until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She jumped slightly.

"Oh, sorry, Sakura-chan! Didn't mean to startle you. I'm leaving, 'kay?" Ayame said, sticking her tongue out, dressed in a nice raincoat, a thing scarf around her thing neck. "Don't stay too long, and lock up!"

"Hai!" Sakura exclaimed. Ayame gave her one last cheerful smile before running out of the room.

When she heard the editor-in-chief's footsteps fade away, Sakura sighed in relief. She quickly finished scribbling her article before shutting down the other computers, pulling out her own laptop and plugging it in so she didn't have to worry about the battery life. She quickly turned it on, her nimble fingers getting to work as soon as the computer finished loading the desktop and programs.

Pulling out her marble notebook and typing her article up, deciding to check after she finished. She smiled at herself when she finally finished and she proceeded to edit, finding more interesting synonyms for works, checking it was all in one tense, etc.

Suddenly the door slid open and Sakura's body stiffened, skillful fingers stopping at once.

"Sakura, why are you still writing for the newspaper? Even Sato's gone," Sasuke asked. Sakura looked up from the screen. He narrowed his eyes. "And you shouldn't be looking at the computer screen. I thought you were going to do something else?!"

"Oh, gomen, Sasuke-kun...I lied..." Sakura said, squinting her eyes shut.

"...Whatever, just don't do that again," Sasuke replied. Sakura sighed in relief and smiled, saving her work and getting up, hastily picking up her bag.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said cheerfully.

"Hn." The two walked out towards the gate of the school.

Before long, it began to rain. Hard.

And the two teens were umbrella-less.

"Ah!!!! It's raining!" Sakura screamed, pulled her hair.

"It's been raining the whole day," Sasuke stated, trying to pull her with him.

"Do you have an umbrella?" Sakura asked hopefully. Sasuke stared.

"No. Do you?"

"...No. What are we going to do?!" Sakura exclaimed. "Lemme go check if there are any extra school umbrellas!"

Sakura rushed into the locker room and saw the tube that usually held the umbrellas.

And unfortunately, it was empty.

The girl sighed wistfully and ran to the front of the school again, to see Sasuke staring peacefully at the rain that was falling, almost like he was staring at nothing. He looked so peaceful that Sakura didn't even want to disturb him, and she watched as a small droplet slid down his hair to drip onto his shoulder.

"...Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, almost as if she was questioning him. Sasuke turned.

"No umbrella, eh?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Sakura nodded nervously, but he shrugged it off. "I guess we'll just have to walk through this."

"...H-hai," Sakura whimpered, following Sasuke out.

The water was cold as it showered immediately onto Sakura's uniform, which was only so thick. She frowned and suppressed a shiver, hugging herself tightly. Sasuke didn't seem to mind the rain, and just walked with his head downwards, watching the puddles form on the gray cement.

Her green eyes darted right and left as they crossed the street, the road flooding and filling with dirty water. A car nearly hit them once they were across, and Sakura's skirt got very wet.

"Ah!" Sakura squeaked. She frowned when she saw how wet and dirty her skirt got. Sasuke scowled and dragged Sakura with him, who was trying to get home faster.

"Damn it! Why did it have to rain so hard! Sasuke-kun, can we just stop at this park for a little bit?" Sakura asked. "Please, I just need to clean my skirt a little bit, otherwise it'll stain, and this is the only pair I have!"

Sasuke thought a moment before sighing. "Hn," he replied, both walking quickly to the park. Sakura sat down on the bench and rubbed the cloth together, hoping to get some of the dirt out.

"Do you even have a tissue?" Sasuke asked impatiently, tapping his foot against the wet floor. She shook her head. "And you know your skirt got even more wet when you sat down."

"RAWR!" Sakura yelled, angry with Sasuke. She jumped on him, sending him toppling down and into the mud. The park was deserted, so no passerby would be blocked. This Sakura knew. "Why the hell are you so damn impatient!" Sakura screamed.

"Because it's raining, and we're both getting soaked," Sasuke stated in a deathly calm voice, eyes darkening and narrowing.

"You're too blunt!" she exclaimed. "Really, why do you care? Why did you bother to tell Tsunade-shishou why? Why did you worry!?"

"..." Sasuke was left speechless, not even uttering a word.

"WHY?!" Sakura yelled, pounding Sasuke's chest with her small fists. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STAYING QUIET!"

"..." The mood became uncomfortable, and Sakura cried, her tears only hidden by the rain, her sobs only silenced by the clapping of thunder, her face only masked by the constant lightening.

"...Sasuke-kun, will you just shut up?!" she hissed, though he was already quiet. She grabbed a handful of mud and smashed it into his face. His eyes widened after he wiped it off.

However, the sight he saw amazed him.

Sakura was trying not to laugh, with another handful in her hand. Sasuke groaned and swapped their positions, throwing a handful of wet soil into her face, smirking triumphantly.

"WHAA!" Sakura screamed, kicking upwards and standing when Sasuke got off of her. She ran quickly, trying to avoid another mud-ball being thrown at her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sakura yelled, running as fast as she could. Sasuke was gaining on her quickly, and the wet floor didn't help at all. Her clothes were dirty and slapping onto her skin, not sticking only because of her movements.

"**This is the only chance."**

Sakura short stopped and grabbed a handful, just when Sasuke couldn't stop from running. She grinned and threw it at him.

"TAKE THAT!!" she said, laughing joyously.

'_Splat!'_

Her pink hair was now brown, sticky, and cold. She frowned when she turned around to see Sasuke speeding off.

"NYA-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!" she roared, picking up a handful and chasing after him, faster than ever. She tackled him from behind and threw it onto his hair.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment in silence, watching her laugh again.

"You know, you don't look bad brunette, Sasuke-kun," Sakura commented, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.

"...You look okay too," Sasuke replied lamely, not really knowing what to say. But it was true, Sakura with brown hair was quite pretty and more normal.

But pink suited her best.

Because it was _unique_.

"But you always look better with your bluish-black hair. I think it's prettier," Sakura said, sliding the mud off the strand. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"_Prettier_?" he said disbelievingly. Sakura nodded.

"Yes, _prettier_," she repeated, smiling widely.

"But...that's so..._feminine_," Sasuke spat.

"What is?" Sakura inquired sweetly, masking her anger quite nicely.

"That _word_," Sasuke said.

"What word?" she asked again.

"_Prettier_."

"..."

"..."

"You're so sexist, you know that, Uchiha?" Sakura remarked, punching Sasuke in the chest once again. She jumped up and offered him a hand.

"I'm fine," he said, getting up on his own. Sakura smiled.

"See how sexist you are? Don't even want to take a girl's helping hand, eh? I see how it is. You wanna be one of those bastards that never ask for a girl's help," Sakura said teasingly, though it sounded very serious.

"...I'm not sexist Sakura. And you'd get even muddier if I took your hand," Sasuke stated. "And I've ne—"

Sasuke was interrupted by her warm and messy embrace.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, squeezing him tighter. "I know you're not like that! You'll never be...I hope!"

"...Aa," Sasuke said, not really sure whether he should hug her back. He squeezed her shortly after before she let go, giving him another bright smile.

"Sasuke-kun, maybe we should...head home?" Sakura said, pointing to both their uniforms before bursting into giggles. "We're pretty dirty, and really this is the only uniform I have!"

"Aa," Sasuke said, leading the way to their house again.

"Ah, chotto matte, Sasuke-kun! We forgot our bags at the bench! Oh, I hope our homework didn't get wet!" Sakura exclaimed running back to the bench with Sasuke following.

When they reached the bags, Sakura opened her bag and sighed to find wet sheets.

"Of course they got wet, we left them in the rain," Sakura mumbled more to herself than Sasuke, sighing in disappointment.

Both rushed back to their own street to find it flooding, almost up to Sakura's knees.

"Ah! I can't go home through this!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Just stay over. Anyway, my house is right there," Sasuke said, pointing to his house.

"Bu—"

"I'll just take the couch again," Sasuke said before she could finish.

She nodded reluctantly and they struggled (well, Sakura did) to get to Sasuke's house. He fumbled slightly with the keys before he opened it to his dry and, thankfully, warm home. Sakura slipped her shoes off, making sure not to get the floor too dirty. Her socks were already very wet, so she took them off to walk.

"Ah, gomen, Sasuke-kun. I'm getting the floor really dirty," she said apologetically.

"It's fine, I'll clean it later. Bring me your shoes. I'm gonna lay them near the heater to dry," Sasuke said, taking their shoes in his hands and setting them down. "The shower's upstairs, left, and first door to the right."

"Um...arigatou," Sakura said, walking up the stairs and entering the room. She undressed and grabbed a spare towel she saw.

After a few quick minutes of washing the dirt off, she quickly dried herself. Looking around in the bathroom for her clothes, she reached for—

Wait.

She didn't have clean clothes.

She forgot to ask.

"Shit!" she hissed. She carefully wrapped the white towel around her chest, which barely reached her mid-thigh, making sure it wouldn't drop. She stepped only three steps out of the bathroom before calling Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled.

"What?!" came the quick reply.

"...This is going to sound weird, but I need clothes!" Sakura yelled back. There was a pause.

"Get back into the bathroom!" Sasuke yelled. Sakura nodded and went back in, hearing the light footsteps of Sasuke going up the stairs and too his room.

'_Knock'_

Sakura opened the door slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. Sasuke looked away and swiftly handed her a gray T-shirt that reached her knees and some shorts.

"Here," he said before shutting the door.

"Arigatou!" Sakura said as strongly as she could. She heard Sasuke walk downstairs again.

After collecting the dirty towel and her clothes, she went down to see Sasuke already changed and clean.

"You have two showers?" she asked. Wow, she only had one.

"Aa," he replied. "You're dressed right?"

"Yes, you idiot," she snapped, He turned around and handed her onigiri.

"Arigatou," she said quickly, nibbling like a mouse on the triangular riceball.

"Hn." Sakura walked over to the fridge and dug through it, only to find some tomatoes, eggs, milk, and some bottles of water. She sweat dropped.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun. You've _got_ to have a little bit more than this!" she exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head. "I'm cooking tonight! Stop living off of onigiri all the time!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Go blow dry the homework or something!...Wait, do you have a blow dryer?" Sakura ordered. He nodded.

"My mom comes over to live here sometimes," he said.

Sakura nodded and grabbed a small bowl and a pair of wooden chopsticks as Sasuke exited the room, carrying their briefcase-like bags and taking out the wet sheets of homework.

The concentrated girl cracked about three eggs into the bowl before using the chopsticks to mix quickly, making sure that the liquid became a smooth, yellow substance. Setting the bowl aside, she grabbed a pan and began to turn the stove on, pouring a little bit of oil onto the black surface. She took some grain and put it in the rice cooker with some water, pressing the 'Rice' button.

At the same time, Sasuke threw Sakura's clothes, which were set on the dining table when she came in, into the washing machine with his clothes, pouring the detergent in and turning the washing machine on. He watched for a few moments before he went to his bathroom and took the blow dryer out to dry their homework.

The rosette poured the egg into the pan carefully, taking out a wooden spatula in the process. Sakura began to make something like scrambled eggs, in the end, throwing some tomatoes in with some salt. She watched as the juice from the tomato became more liquid like as she added a little bit of water and starch to make a sauce. She tilted the pan back and forth, making sure not to overcook something.

The distinct noises of the loud yet useful blow dryer could be heard in combination to Sakura's cooking. The homework wasn't as neat as before, and some ink was smudged, however it was still legible. The sheet crumpled a little bit, not in as smooth a state as before.

That night, both of them had rice with tomatoes and eggs for dinner.

And Sakura kicked Sasuke off his bed, once _again_.

But she couldn't complain.

I mean it _was_ soft.

* * *

_One week later..._

"I'm so glad that my eyesight got better! But that was really weird!" Sakura exclaimed. Everyone else nodded. "Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun, Neji, did you guys read my article?" The two boys shook their heads. She handed each of them a copy. "Here guys, free copies!"

"But aren't they free _anyway_, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked naïvely.

"Yes, but I'm trying to act generous here!" Sakura explained, hitting him on the head lightly.

Sasuke and Neji in particular smirked at the article.

**U.S.F. and H.N.F.: The "Ideal" Clubs to Join!**

_Article by Haruno Sakura_

Congratulations, you have just joined the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub/Hyuuga Neji Fanclub! Now, you are forever bound to one of those two pretty boys! Your goal is to make them fall head over heels with you and destroy any rivals in your way, including your own fangirl companions. Perhaps your raised to be cannibal-like?

Maybe! It could just be so!

But what's really behind these clubs and the two "lovely" presidents, first-year student Yoshida Mitsuki and second-year student Yamada Hanako?

Of course, the ultimate goal is to make the boy fall in love with you...

But what're the _other_ goals?

What are some of the _real _motives?

From my own research, I have learned that, indeed, that is not the only reason the fanclub was created.

That is not the only reason people join.

That is not the only reason that the fangirls roam the school.

The truth? As this might be called "defacing" or "falsely criticizing" the two rather popular fanclubs, there is something called "freedom of press".

So, I expose the truth. (And nothing but the truth!)

The Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub was also made to _eliminate_ Haruno Sakura. In other words, yours truly! How outrageous! Yoshida has even gotten all her followers to address Uchiha Sasuke in a specific way, even ones her senior. Should she really be given this much power?

In the Hyuuga Neji Fanclub, the members are tamed strictly by President Yamada, not even given a small chance to make a mistake. The rudeness of Miss Yamada towards her classmates and peers could even be considered abuse. Their main target is supposedly Tenten of Yamada's same year and homeroom. The tension lives on even during class!

Both clubs go through rigorous rules that they have made up, both clubs' members are required to memorize them. Yet, there are more than a thousand that maybe the presidents can't even remember! Yet they call this fair?

For if they forget, they are whipped with the pointer! (Yes, the one's that all the teachers have in their rooms.)

So, students of Konoha Senior High School, we'd love it if you sent any comments to _The Daily Leaf_ concerning this matter. Should this club really be official when it promotes rabid girls chasing after a boy and abusing others? Should it really be the _ideal_ club to join?

Or should our fellow students, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji, have a restraining order for these crazy, high school gals?

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** Festival Preperation! 

"Minna-san, this year, our class has been chosen to do the play for the festival. Everyone will gather at the auditorium during a certain time to watch!" Kakashi announced.

"What's the play about?" a random student asked.

"I myself have not seen the script. Hyuuga Hinata has just finished editing it! She is our lovely play writer!" Kakashi said. Hinata blushed when all gazes turned to her and the stack of papers on her desk, which she had her hands on.

* * *

A/N: So I won't be seeing you in a while! I squished 10 pages into one day just before school starts! Yes, a little bit weird, but please, I hope you like it! 


	19. Chapter XIX: Cultural Fest Preperation!

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XIX: Festival Preparation!

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm too lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: Hellos, everyone! I'm so glad that I can update. My rambling shall ensue soon, so no worries, but I'm actually going to try to be on topic right now (fanfiction/my schedule). I've got to squeeze time, but just by the first week I'm so tired. Having Rosh Hashanah (no, I'm _**not**_ Jewish, but my school has to close down) really kinda helps, since it gave me the time to write this, though my head is aching from trying to finish my homework (which actually wasn't much x-x I'm really losing my touch). 

I'm not really getting enough sleep anymore. x.x So please, don't blame me if something it _horribly_ –gasp- wrong with my writing. I _know_ I have mistakes and that you guys haven't really told me yet, but please, I know when I make a mistake when I look over everything. Preparation was spelled wrong last chapter preview. I apologize.

I'm so sorry that I haven't been doing much NejiTen lately! It's just these chapters were more focused on SasuSaku and a little bit of ShikaIno. SasuSaku will be the main focus for these chapters. Excuse me, I'm going through a phase here. xP NejiTen will come soon, no worries. They'll be the first to go, if you know what I mean. ; D But you could misinterpret it...Anyway, this chapter has Sasuke sorting his emotions out a lot. Hehe, a little bit boring, but ya knows, I'm like that.

And thanks to you all who have reviewed/read/favorited/alerted _**The Modeling Hell**_. Both of us love your comments and stuffs. –huggle–

**This story will be a little less light hearted than before from here on out. I'm probably going to add more drama than before. **

Yea, I'll get on with it now guys. xP Oh, and the play is based partially on what Renalin wrote for me. Well...the end is.

* * *

Bustling and chatter were filling the school grounds, all on one exciting topic: 

The Autumn Cultural Festival

It was always something fun to do, many would remember, and since _everyone_ in the area, including adults, middle schoolers, and elementary students, would be allowed to come, the place was always very busy and crowded.

But the _best_ part?

No class for one whole day! These things didn't come by often during the second semester, so every student was looking forward to it.

"Yep, yep, Konoha High has the best cookers! Too bad they're seniors. I remember going to their booth for a little bit last year..." Tenten mumbled. Naruto beamed at her happily.

"Did they cook ra—OOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!! NEJI WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

Neji glared and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Don't stare at her like that," he stated sharply. Naruto frowned before grinning once again.

"Oooooooooooooo, somebody likes Tenten! Neji and Tenten sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes lo—OWWWWWW! AGAIN?!" Naruto shrieked (for lack of a better word) in pain. "It's true, and you know it!!! Now who agrees with me?!"

Neji glared icily at Naruto once more, his face still red, but definitely not as red as Tenten's, who actually had to sit down.

Ino rolled her eyes at the action, because what Naruto said _was_ true and that he was a fellow blond deemed to be stupid, yet he noticed such things. Ha! Shows those stereotypical people right!

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on not laughing, instead on her book she was reading. Nobody had first period that day, so they would start in another half an hour. With nothing to do, Sakura pulled out a book and began to read, but once Naruto's loud singing voice (don't forget tone deaf) wormed the words into her head, she couldn't help but choke on a bit of saliva at the truth of it.

Shikamaru, as usual just murmured troublesome before _trying_ to get back to his nap. However, he knew the song was right, it would just be _too_ troublesome to even deal with an angry Neji and possibly Tenten at the same time.

Hinata giggled slightly, wondering why her cousin would be oblivious to such feelings after being _close_ friends with Tenten for so long. It seemed as if he was just _denying_ them. But she dared not laugh aloud, though it probably wouldn't hurt to.

And perhaps the only one that voiced their agreement with Naruto?

Uchiha Sasuke, of all people.

The person that seemed to _hate _Naruto's guts like crazy, yet was still his best friend, had smirked and said the worst thing he could've possibly said next to Naruto's chanting.

"Why won't you just admit, Hyuuga, that you two are dating?"

Neji gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, glaring full power at the sneering Uchiha, who was unaffected. Truthfully, the only glare he was actually scared of was his mother's, and she rarely showed it. Sasuke has been able to develop a shield or barrier for these 'death glares' that people send him.

Oh yes, especially Sakura's newly developed fanclub (though Lee was always polite enough to actually _understand_).

"Uchiha, Tenten and I are merely close friends. If we were dating, I could say the same about you and Haruno-san," Neji said, smirking with the response he got from the other boy. "The relationship is similar, no? I'm sure you wouldn't question that."

Oh, he got him

He got him _good_.

And yet, the Sharingan wielder managed to stay calm enough.

"Hn."

"I see, in denial as always," Neji retorted, staring from the corner of his eye at the pink-haired girl, who seemed to be trying to calm down her blush by reading the book she was holding furiously, flipping the pages so fast that they were at the verge of tearing.

"Sakura-chan, please don't turn those pages so fast. The librarian will get mad, and you'll have to pay if it rips," Hinata said softly, lifting Sakura's pale hand off of the page she was about to turn. She let out a sigh.

"Gomen, Hinata-chan. Thank you for telling me that," she said with a straight face, no longer blushing after her little act.

Naruto laughed heartily at the glaring prodigies during this time.

'_Crackle'_

"_Will all students please return to their homerooms for second period. First period is now over, and students have four minutes to get into their classrooms seated. Your teacher will give you announcements, and until lunch period, you will be working with them and perhaps other teachers to get things sorted out for the upcoming cultural festival. Please note that classes after lunch will resume normally. Have a nice day."_

"I guess we should go now," Ino said to everybody, poking Shikamaru in the stomach to wake him. He groaned and sat up, stretching slightly before reluctantly getting up. Everyone stood up from their positions. Sakura put the book she was reading into her bag. Hinata quickly checked her own bag before clipping it closed once again. Tenten's face was still quite blank, but she was smiling at the small joke that Ino made about Naruto, even _if_ he was a fellow blond.

"Bye guys!" Tenten exclaimed softer than usual when they split up to go up the stairs.

"Mmm, ja, Tenten!" Sakura said back, walking down the hallway to find their classroom. Surprisingly, Kakashi was already in there with about half the class. She took her seat hastily next to Sasuke and rested her chin on her two hands.

"I wonder what we're going to do..." Sakura said absentmindedly as the class watched the last batch of students file into the room and sit in their seats.

"You're all here, right?" Kakashi asked. Nobody responded, and the teacher sighed. "I guess I'll have to do attendance than..." He pulled out the roll book and began calling out names quickly, unusual compared to the leisurely way he used to say the names.

So leisurely it would put people to sleep.

"Okay," Kakashi piped up. Apparently, the teachers were as excited as the students, if not more. "Everyone _is_ here."

"Kakashi-sensei, could you please get on with it!" a random student called out.

"Hai, hai...Minna-san, this year, our class has been chosen to do the play for the festival. Everyone will gather at the auditorium during a certain time to watch!" Kakashi announced.

"What's the play about?" a random student asked.

"I myself have not seen the script. Hyuuga Hinata has just finished editing it! She is our lovely play writer!" Kakashi said. Hinata blushed when all gazes turned to her and the stack of papers on her desk, which she had her hands on, seeming as if she was straightening the stack.

"A-ano...Sasori-sensei has read the script already...I asked him to make some copies this morning..." Hinata said nervously, fidgeting with the black clip keeping everything together.

"Hinata, could you please hand me the script? I'd like to take a look," Kakashi said, motioning for her to walk up to the front of the room.

"S-sure," she said nervously, getting up and stumbling to her homeroom teacher, handing him the stack with a bow.

"Arigatou," he thanked quickly before skimming through the script, which was actually quite long. He raised his eyebrows at the end, pretending to be surprised when he was actually smirking underneath his mask. "I'd never think you'd make the performers do _that_."

Hinata blushed. "Sasori-san told me to...he said it'd make the play more dramatic at the end," she said honestly, though she was thinking about doing that before. However, she was afraid the two that were picked wouldn't like each other.

"Ah, I see," Kakashi said.

"What's the play about?!" a fangirl shrieked, just hoping that it would be romance and she'd get the lead female role with Sasuke-_kun_ as her partner.

She was already having fantasies.

"I'll have Hinata explain," Kakashi said, eye crinkling when he put the stack on his desk. "Go on, Hinata."

"Ano," the Hyuuga heiress said with the loudest and clearest voice she could, clearing her throat. "The play is about a princess. Her kingdom is in a war with some unknown force, and her father was unexpectedly killed. Her mother had run away right after she was born, and was never found again—as if she had disappeared. The princess's best friend is her tutor, who tries to hide the fact that she's part of the army, and partially there to protect her. During all this, the princess does not realize that her kingdom is at war until both her father and tutor die.

"She, as the new ruler of the kingdom, must organize the military and command them. She is only sixteen, and the elders of the kingdom want her to be protected by a personal bodyguard, since her tutor was killed soon after her father died. She is targeted because she is the princess of the kingdom. A few days later, a man claiming to have amnesia is taken in when he was found in the forest on the border of the kingdom," Hinata took a deep breath here.

"In actuality, he does not have amnesia, and he was sent to assassinate the princess, since he is from the other side of the war. He becomes the bodyguard of the princess by the elder's orders, though the princess refuses at first. In the end, he is still made her bodyguard. She has no adviser for the army, but before the late king died, he would teach her how to fight and strategize. Therefore, she possessed a certain amount of skill.

"Afterward, the princess begins to trust the man, and eventually, they both fall in love due to the fact that they became so close, even protecting each other during one battle," Hinata blushed as she recited this part. At this point, most of the class was listening intently. "At one battle, the commander of the side against the princess finds him actually protecting the princess instead of turning around and trying to kill her. He asks what's wrong, and the bodyguard says that he was just getting her to trust him even more.

"When later on, he is ordered to kill her in the next battle, the princess already finds out and feels betrayed. During the battle, he raises his sword to her after killing her childhood best friend. She faces him bravely and stands in front of him, saying that he can kill her, since she is already numb from the emotional pain he caused her.

"She says that their relationship was never going to work anyway, and he agrees soon after. He puts his sword on her back as he faces her and begins to pierce through her. They keep speaking until the princess finds him piercing himself as well after he goes through her. Well...they both die together, but not before intertwining their hands and sharing a kiss," Hinata finished, flushed from embarrassment and very our of breath. She bowed when everyone applauded for the excellent play she came up with.

"Well, Hinata seems very tired, so she can return to her seat," Kakashi said, Hinata nodding in thanks. "I would like to explain the way Hinata did the characters. She has their personalities written down, with the princess and the assassin having the most elaborate personalities. The princess, Yukiko-hime, is a very cheerful girl, yet after the deaths of the two most important people in her life, she becomes very bitter and serious. The assassin provides her with more company, and she returns slightly to her normal self.

"The assassin, Hiroshi-san, is a very sarcastic and mysterious character, not quite talking much. The only person he really speaks to is the princess, and it is then does he really bring out his sense of sarcastic and dry humor. He always puts his orders in front of other things. This caused him to kill his best friend in the past because he was ordered to.

"By the end of the play, he realizes some things are more important than just his commands, though it's too late for him to change anything. Thus, he kills himself in the process in a way to punish himself. The other characters are described in this packet, that you will be getting next period when you speak with Sasori-sensei, since he _is_ your drama teacher.

"Now, I'll be doing the roles through this diagram," Kakashi finished. The students didn't even notice that he had drawn a map on the board with many lines. It was split into two sections, one for boys, the other for girls. The top had all the roles covered while the bottom had everyone's name. "Some of the papers have backstage help, like lighting, curtains, clothing design, etc. I'll be starting now!"

"Sasuke," Kakashi said aloud, pulling down the paper where he got to with Sasuke's name. "You will be the assassin! Please stand at the front of the room to await your _princess_."

At this point, of course, Sasuke scowled, but went up anyway. All the fangirls shrieked, obviously wanting to be the princess. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"What's so good about being able to kiss teme, anyway?" he mumbled. Shikamaru shrugged.

"I feel sorry for him. So troublesome...he'll have a lot of lines."

"Shikamaru, he has photographic memory," Naruto spat, unhappy with the truth. It wasn't fair at all.

At the front of the room, Sasuke cast Kakashi a small glare. "If I get a fangirl as the princess, which is _majority_ of the girls in my class, I'm not taking the job," he hissed.

Kakashi shrugged. "No can do," he whispered back before raising his voice for the class to hear the next person's name.

"Akina..." he said, tracing the line. The fangirl clasped her hands together, ears perked up. "You will be the princess—"

"YES!! TAKE THAT!" Akina said, jumping on her desk, pointing particularly at Sakura, who just raised an eyebrow. "TAKE THAT, HARUNO SAKURA! I STOLE SASUKE-KUN FROM YOU!"

"He was never mine," Sakura stated. "And I suggest you sit down. The desk is already breaking from your weight." Several boys snickered when the fangirl frowned and sat down, giving Kakashi a sweet smile.

"...Akina, you didn't let me finish. You'll be the princess's personal maid," Kakashi finished. Sasuke sighed in relief.

"WHAT??!" she cried. "NO!!!"

"ANYWAY!" Kakashi yelled above her screaming. "NARUTO...YOU'LL BE THE PRINCESS'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND THAT IS LATER ON KILLED!"

"...DATTEBAYO! COOL!...WAIT! WHY DOES TEME GET TO KILL ME?!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi ignored Naruto's remark, went down the list and got to Ino's name. By that time, Akina already stopped screaming, and was only fuming.

"Ino, you will be the princess's tutor," he stated. After going down several other insignificant roles, Shikamaru heard his job and sighed in relief.

"Shikamaru, you are doing lighting," Kakashi said. Shikamaru mumbled that it wasn't _too_ troublesome, so he was okay with it.

"Gomen, Hinata, but you're going to design all the costumes," Kakashi said. Hinata nodded and smiled.

After a few more names, there were only two roles left, both female. The princess and the curtain puller.

And the princess was either fangirl or Sakura.

"**Kami-sama, don't put me with a bitchy fangirl..." **Sasuke thought. His inner shrugged.

'Who knows...'

"Sakura..." Kakashi was tracing until a fangirl interrupted the result.

"HARUNO, I'M TOTALLY GONNA GET THE ROLE OF THE PRINCESS!" the fangirl shrieked. Sakura shrugged.

"Suit yourself, there are more lines anyway," she stated.

"WHAT?!...WHATEVER, I'M TOTALLY GONNA BE THE _BEST_ PRINCESS! BECAUSE _YOU_ CAN'T DO A GO—"

"ACTUALLY!" Kakashi said loudly so the fangirl could hear. "HARUNO SAKURA IS YUKIKO-HIME!"

'_Gasp'_

That was all the fangirls gasping together and glaring at the girl.

"W-what?!" Sakura exclaimed. "I can't remember that many lines!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Sorry," he said quickly. "You can't switch. I'm submitting this list to Sasori-sensei right now. Would you come stand by Sasuke, Sakura? Please watch the class while I go to submit this."

"Hai," she said quickly, scurrying to the front as fast as she could so she could _try_ to hide behind Sasuke and escape all the glares. After all, they wouldn't _dare_ glare at Sasuke.

When she got to the front and Kakashi left, she grabbed Sasuke and pulled him in front of her, using him as a shield which surprised several people. Some new fanboys of hers frowned, because they did not get the role of Hiroshi. They began to glare at Sasuke, who cursed under his breath.

"Oooo...colorful language there, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered.

"Che, you _think_ worse than that. And I'm sure you know your fanboys are glaring at me now...and the fangirls are smiling freakishly," Sasuke hissed.

"No worries. Ignore them like usual," Sakura said, giggling.

"It's harder than you think," Sasuke said. "Why don't you try it yourself?...Or..."

"Or?"

"Or come and stand next to me. If you're here, your fanboys won't glare and if I'm here, my fangirls won't glare," he finished.

"Not a bad idea, Nya-kun...not at all," Sakura said, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Sakura, just get over here," he said, pulling her from behind so they were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Quickly, the boys' glares changed to flirtatious smiles and everything became silent. The fangirls stayed as they were, sending only a few mean glances at Sakura.

"Phew...no more pressure," Sakura said.

"That's what _you_ think. We've got the most lines in this play," Sasuke deadpanned. Sakura sighed.

"But it sounds like a good play," Sakura commented optimistically.

"Hn."

* * *

"Did you do it, Kakashi?" 

Kakashi blinked at his superior, dark eye glowing mischievously.

"Hai, I did," he answered very simply, yet his tone implied want and desire for something. "I did precisely what you said..."

"**Truthfully, it was all luck..."** Kakashi thought to himself before inwardly grinning. **"But what he doesn't know won't hurt him..."**

The man stared skeptically at the late, messy-haired teacher, who was keeping a straight face the whole time. He cupped his chin with his hand and rubbed it several times, still scrutinizing the one visible eye, but all he could see was black and nothing more. Narrowing his eyes to see clearer didn't help at all. The man before him stayed stoic and unmoving, awaiting his reward patiently.

"..."

"..."

"Okay, you can have them," he finally said, handing an object to the masked man. "Now, Haruno and Uchiha better do something good during that play of Hyuuga's."

"I'll try...and I'm sure Sasori will listen to you," Kakashi replied, bowing before leaving the room with a satisfied smirk beneath his grey mask.

* * *

'_Shhhhhhh'_

'_Bam'_

"Arigatou, Sakura, Sasuke for loo—"

"Finally," they both said, walking back to their seats immediately. They had been standing in front of the busy and bustling class the whole time Kakashi was gone.

"**It doesn't take **_**that**_** long to hand somebody a character's list,"** Sasuke thought impatiently. He narrowed his eyes at the green book Kakashi was holding. **"Is that a **_**new **_**book?"**

'_Riiiiiiiing'_

"Oh, minna-san, please go to Sasori-sensei's room. He should be there already, preparing some activities and scenes. All the scripts for every performer was printed out, so don't worry! You're welcome to write on them, he says. Just in case you forget something," Kakashi said quickly, turning back to his green book. When nobody moved he sighed. "Class dismissed." Damn these students and their obedience! They were wasting precious reading time!

Sakura nibbled her fingers when she left with Sasuke, biting her fingernails constantly as they drifted towards the auditorium.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"...I'm scared of the lines," Sakura replied, still biting her nails. Her innocent, green eyes looked into his dark ones. "Aren't you?"

He glanced at her before turning forward again. "No."

"Why not?! We have the _lead_ roles!" Sakura exclaimed, waving her hands in the air for further emphasis.

"Hn."

"HUH?! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! TELL ME YOUR SECRET!!!!!!" she whined, getting to her knees, putting on her ultimate puppy dog eyes (hell, she tried it on _Neji_ and it worked), and tugging lightly at his sleeve.

"Pweaseeeee," she said again, eyes glassy and glazed and pink lips in a small, trembling pout. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched when some students saw this happen, and he began to think quickly for escape plans.

"Sakura," he stated firmly, "we're going to be la—"

"Pweaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she continued.

"Sakura, we're o—"

"PWEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" she cried, tears nearly falling out of her eyes.

"Screw this," Sasuke said, grabbing Sakura roughly by the arm and throwing her over his shoulder, continuing their journey to the auditorium, causing a few surprised glances but nothing more. Sakura hit his back with her fists.

"Hey! Put me down! Sasuke, do it, _now_," Sakura said seriously.

"Not until we get to the door. You were blocking the staircase and we were going to be late," Sasuke said, putting her down when they reached the metal doors to the auditorium. He gave her a hand so she could stand and she stood up, dusting herself before pushing the doors open.

"Shit," Sasuke hissed.

"Hm?" Sakura questioned.

"We're already l—"

"Haruno, Uchiha, I expect you two, as the lead roles, to actually get here on time. I suppose you have no excuse?" the redhead scolded sharply, face completely void of any emotion, whether it be joy or anger, it was masked perfectly. "However, I'll let you off, since punishing you would do no good for anyone. Here are you scripts." A thick packet of papers were handed to the two, who bowed in apology and joined the rest of the class in their seats in front of the stage.

"Anyway, I was speaking about how today, we will be practicing various scenes and so on. Most of the cast and crew will not be needed until later on. Hinata-san, do you have enough time to make all the costumes? If not, I can assign somebody else to help," Sasori offered. Hinata shook her head.

"I'm fine, Sasori-sensei. Anyway, I know all the characters' outfits, so I shouldn't have too much trouble. And if I do, I have some people that can help," Hinata declined politely.

"Okay, I'd like to get to work now. Ino, Sakura, please do act one, scene five," Sasori ordered, putting the two girls onto the stage. They took their new scripts and positioned themselves to face each other. "Oh, and girls, please do the actions that Hinata-san has written. Would somebody get Ino a chair to sit on?"

Soon, a boy had dragged a folding chair up, and Ino was sitting on it, looking at Sakura, who was on her knees and holding Ino's hands.

"This feels awkward," Sakura mumbled. Ino rolled her eyes.

"_No_," Ino retorted sarcastically.

"Action," Sasori said in a monotone voice, eyes following the two performers.

"Yukiko-hime, please do not worry. Even if your father is dead, I'm sure that you will be able to rule us well," Ino said, acting as the tutor right away, only taking one glance at the script every so often.

"But, Lilith, will you please help me? Help me rule? You make it sound so hard," Sakura recited. Ino sighed.

"...Yes...but please be careful with yourself," she said, pulling 'Yukiko' into an embrace. "I'll protect you...I will..."

"What? What do you need to protect me from?" Sakura said, finding it too hard to read in Ino's hug. However, she managed to remember that line from reading before.

'Lilith' let go of 'Yukiko' and grabbed her by the shoulders firmly, looking deep in her eyes. "...Yukiko-hime...I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you earlier...You must understand that our kingdom is at war."

"What?!" 'Yukiko' exclaimed, standing up immediately. Sakura made sure to take her script with her. She quickly made a slashing motion with her hand. "How did I not know?!"

'Lilith' looked down at the floor, turning her face away from the princess's. "You're...you're father ordered us not to."

"That is enough," Sasori said. The class gave an applause before the two bowed and walked off. "I want you _all_ to be able to as well as the outstanding performance Haruno and Yamanaka gave. The first time."

"Eh, teme, Sakura was good wasn't she?" Naruto said, nudging Sasuke in the shoulder.

"Aa," he said before turning back to the stage where the king and Akina were speaking, which were one of the earliest scenes.

"Sasuke," Naruto said seriously after a moment. Much too serious to even be joking anymore. "Do you like her?"

"...Of course I like her," Sasuke replied. Naruto sighed.

"No, do you like _love_ her?" he rephrased. Sasuke paused and he stiffened, Naruto obviously noticing his best friends discomfort. "Sasuke, do you?"

"What made you think that?" Sasuke finally said, trying to concentrate on a scene Ino was speaking to the king.

"I dunno...your overprotective, you worry a lot, you guys walk to school together, she stays at your house for emergencies/studying, other stuff, you know? And you _let_ her. C'mon, all the years I've known you, you wouldn't invite a _single girl _to your birthday parties," Naruto said.

"..."

"Uzumaki! Get up here with Haruno, _now_," Sasori called.

"I'll leave you to think about it," Naruto said before getting up and walking towards the stage with his usual lopsided grin on his face.

"Sorry, Sasori-sensei!" he exclaimed. Sasori just nodded.

"Get started. Act two, scene six."

"How...how did Lilith die?" Sakura said, gulping and clenching her fists. "WHO KILLED HER?!"

"...Yukiko-hime...she was killed by a bombardment of arrows," Naruto said solemnly, reading the script carefully. "...Her whole unit died..."

As the two kept acting, Sasuke was thinking deeply about what Naruto said, wondering why he'd even ask such a question. He himself couldn't even figure out that Hinata liked him!

But right now, he really shouldn't be questioning Naruto's idiocy, no matter how much he liked doing it.

He should be questioning himself with whether or not he liked Sakura in _that way_.

Because all the evidence that Naruto pointed out was true.

He even bought her that much Starbucks coffee, which was already very expensive.

'You like her, idiot.'

"**...You again. I really don't have time for this right now."**

'I can help you at this point...and I'm being serious.'

"**What can you help me with?"**

'I can help you realize that you actually like Haruno Sakura more than a friend.'

"**And **_**how**_** are you going to do that?"**

'I have a test of my own, yet if I revealed it to you, you wouldn't be able to do it. You'd just try to prove that you were just friends.'

"**Hn."**

"Uchiha, could you please get up here? You don't seem to be paying attention at all," Sasori said. Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his script, just hoping he still had enough attention to actually read the script and say the right lines.

"Act three, scene one," Sasori commanded. Sasuke, Sakura, and Akina nodded as they turned the pages continuously until they reached the right page.

"Yukiko-hime," Akina said while inwardly glomping Sasuke. "We found this man on the border of the kingdom in the forest. He claims to have amnesia and the only thing he knows is his first name. No other information can be remembered."

'Yukiko' raised an eyebrow and stared down at the kneeling Sasuke, who was waiting for her to say her lines to he could speak. In the mean time, he still wondered about Naruto's question, which kept swimming in his head.

"...What is your name?" 'Yukiko' asked elegantly. Sasuke looked up slightly.

"My name is Hiroshi, Yukiko-hime," he said steadily.

"Do not address me that way. You cannot remember if I am your ruler or not. So be it. I shall just be Yukiko until further notice," Sakura recited, a serious and overpowering expression on her face. "Keiko, please lead Hiroshi-san to his room. He shall stay at the palace until we find out where he belongs." 'Yukiko' strode off the stage from the right while Akina saw this as a chance to cling to Sasuke and exit off the left.

Sakura turned around halfway down the stairs.

"And, Keiko, I would prefer if you didn't cling to the man. It seems he's uncomfortable," she said calmly yet clearly for the whole class to hear, still using her authority as 'Yukiko-hime' to command her. A large population burst out laughing when Akina blushed furiously and let go of Sasuke's arm before scurrying back to her seat.

"Thank you for the performance, everyone," Sasori said. "I expect you all to memorize your lines in three days. Dress rehearsals will be after school the day before the festival and three days from now after school. It is _mandatory_ to attend all rehearsals. I will see you tomorrow. Class dismissed."

Sakura jogged up to the fast walking Sasuke, who just refused to make any eye contact with her.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "You seem...out of it today."

"Hn," he answered curtly before striding ahead again.

"Hey, wait a sec! Stop avoiding me!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing onto his sleeve. He turned sharply, eyes very distant as if he was looking right through her. They softened slightly for a while as he held her gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly.

"Silly, what for!?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

"...Nothing. Forget it," he replied, leaving Sakura quite confused. "I'm just...thinking. Stupid dobe..."

"How mean! Thinking about how annoying Naruto is!" Sakura exclaimed.

"**Actually, I'm thinking about you..."**

Instead, he said, "Hn," before walking off again, head dipped and hands in his pockets.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Sakura asked again. He nodded. "Nah, something's wrong...Oh! I know, your scared of memorizing the lines!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, wondering how she got to _that_ conclusion. Before he could say anything, Sakura exclaimed, "We can practice after school! Anyway, I'm free today and the auditorium is not being used by any club!"

Sasuke inwardly groaned. He was hoping to get some more time to think, but it seemed that he wouldn't be doing much of that today.

"**Well, there's a long time for that, I suppose."**

'Less than you think, however.'

"**Why do you bother to answer in riddles?"**

'It's my thing.'

* * *

"Ya got an answer yet, teme?" Naruto asked during lunch when they were the first to arrive, with nothing to eat as usual. 

"..."

"No, huh?...Take your time...you don't even have to tell me," Naruto said, laying down and looking at the leaves that were falling form the tree, hands behind his head.

"**Naruto, since when did you start not being such an idiot?"** Sasuke thought, truthfully baffled at Naruto's behavior.

"Dobe, do _you_ like Hinata?" Sasuke asked. Naruto kept his eyes closed while Sasuke took a seat next to him, leaning against the tree with one leg propped up.

"...I guess," Naruto finally answered. "Hinata's really nice and stuff! And her ramen's great! So I guess I do like her a lot. Hehe, teme, it's not _that _hard to decide."

"Sometimes it can be..." Sasuke replied. Naruto shrugged.

"You think too much!" Naruto admitted.

"You don't think enough," Sasuke shot back, satisfied with his own reply.

"HEY!!!!!!!" Naruto yelled before the others came for lunch.

* * *

"Woah, I never knew it'd be _this_ quiet. If I did, I would've asked some of the others to come, too," Sakura said as she opened the heavy metal door of the vacant auditorium. Both their steps echoed in the room as they climbed the wooden steps onto the stage, adorned with velvet, vermillion curtains. 

"Sasuke-kun, you're really quiet," Sakura remarked, tilting her head to get a better look at Sasuke's face. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing. I told you that already. I'm just reading some of the lines," he lied, bringing the papers up to make it look more realistic and truthful.

"Oh, I see! Sorry to disturb you! Where do you want to start practicing? I can be some other character for now, if you like. But in the end, I've got to have some practice, too!" Sakura proclaimed.

"Hn," Sasuke said, looking up for the slightest moment before looking down once again.

"Ne, ne, can we do the scene where you're talking to Naruto's character?" Sakura asked joyfully. "I thought that was interesting!"

"Aa," Sasuke replied, getting ready to say his line.

* * *

Sakura sighed deeply. They had already gotten through most of their lines, and the only one left was...the last scene. 

"Kami-sama, it's impossible that we got _this_ far," Sakura said. Sasuke didn't look at her at this point, still thinking about Naruto's question. He was in no state to feel comfortable about doing this scene, since he was still trying to establish Sakura's relationship to him.

"Ano, Sasuke-kun, do you want to practice more, or do you want to just head home?" Sakura said nervously, knowing that indeed it was making both of them quite uncomfortable.

"...Let's go home," Sasuke finally decided. He heard Sakura give a small sigh of relief, which for some reason hurt him. Both grabbed their bags and left the auditorium.

And just moments before, Sasuke came up with a conclusion.

He couldn't kiss her, even for the play...

Because he loved her, and it'd ruin their friendship...

And it'd hurt _both of them_ if she didn't feel the same way.

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was in love with Haruno Sakura.

Yet _friendship_ came first.

That's how he'd leave it for the time being.

"_**Shit**_**. I _can't _be in love with Sakura."  
**

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview: **Kiss of Friendship 

"I can't do this," Sasuke admitted.

"Why? We were okay during rehearsal," Sakura asked worriedly.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "I _can't_ kiss you."

"...Why?" Sakura asked. "Do it for the play, Sasuke-kun, for the class, for Naruto, for _me_. I don't...feel comfortable with this either!"

"I can't Sakura," Sasuke said quickly. "...I have my reasons. And I can't."

* * *

A/N: Muahahaha, I love you all. This chapter was a little bit hard to write. 

O.o What shall poor Sasuke do?

Of course, I know, and even though it may not satisfy _you_, it will in later chapters.

I _promise_. So don't get mad whatever happens next time!

Until then!

Kikoru x3


	20. Chapter XX: Kiss of Friendship

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XX: Kiss of Friendship

by Kikoru Sijan

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm too lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD 

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: Hello, all! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Though I'm not getting as many reviews anymore (must be because the wonderful summer is over x-x), I still appreciate that people read my fanfic, favorite them, alert, them, anything at all. I feel like I know that all of you are actually liking and still following this story. It really means a lot to me! I've already made it to the twentieth chapter. 

And I'm totally flipping out!

Sure, lots of other fanfics have like thirty-forty! Even eighty! But you know what?

I'm proud of what I've done! _Very_ proud! Hell yea!

And I love this story and you guys to bits. Thanks so, so, so, _so_ much for giving me so much encouragement! And I'm so sorry if I can't list all your names, I'm much too lazy.

But, special thanks to: tennisxdork (one of the best friends anyone could _ever_ have and the bestest co-writer in the whole, wide world!), Renalin (the famous, caring, kind, and awesomeness!), Quiet Moon (love, love, love, your reviews!), eleanaleone, SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl, Karui Yumi Kitsune-Hyuga, tru-viet, WiltedRose-x, Crazy Neko Girl (thank you for the happy birthday back then!), and everyone else! Too many to list. :) And don't be disappointed if your not there. I love you _anyway_!

So, here is the twentieth chapter! Haha, we'll be taking a break from the drama for a few chapters before it _returns_...with double the mess-ups.

And _**don't**_ be disappointed with what happens in this chapter! I'm sorry if you are. However...I have many other plans...And strangely, this chapter will be more or less Sakura centric, though it does speak much about Sasuke as well. I think it'll leak into Sasuke near the end of the chapter. I'm making up for the lack of dialogue while I do the play. A large amount of this is description.

Well, enjoy the show! (Haha, get it?...Never mind...but really, do enjoy!)

**I don't own the song **_**Shooting Star**_**. It is by KOTOKO. Also, please take the time to read the lyrics. And if you would like to here the song, just go onto my Xanga, and in my music box, you'll be sure to find it. Just wait for it to load. I also do not own the end of the play. I morphed it, but it really belongs to ****Renalin**

* * *

"Kami-sama, that goes _there_ not _there_!" 

"That thing is going to fall apart if we don't put extra tape!"

"That's his costume, not _yours_!"

"Gosh, will you stay still?! This pin is going to fall off if you don't!"

"Why aren't there enough chairs?! Get another one!"

"Didn't you photocopy the programs?! WHAT?! One hundred fifty isn't enough!"

Sasori clapped loudly to get the class's attention. His apathetic face showed no excitement or giddiness like the other teachers on the day before the festival. Rather, it was still emotionless and cold. His eyes scanned the whole auditorium (which was locked for the play's preparation), to find all the students stopping midway into their jobs, all eyes on him.

"Good," he said curtly in his clipped, clear voice. "Now, everyone, please settle down. Take a seat. You will get a chance to change into your costumes in a moment, and the dress rehearsal will begin. Make sure all the lighting, curtains, stage props, backgrounds, and whatever is needed is ready to go for tomorrow. I expect everything to be done and rehearsed by tomorrow. Now, you can finish what you needed to do and have a quick ten minute drink before we start to rehearse. We will probably get through three-quarters of the play today, and I expect that you all know the rest."

"Hai, Sasori-sensei!" the class chorused before rushing out to get water, go the toilet, chat in the hallways, and other things. Everyone made sure not to block any other class' preparations for their own booth or activity, since the whole school was extremely active and moving. Classes had finished already, and a group of students from every class would be doing the finishing touches to their festival contribution.

Well, in the case of 1-3, everyone was needed for the production and the rehearsal...so everyone was forced to be there.

In the following rehearsal, everything went almost completely right, minus the fact that Akina was flipping out about the last scene, so they could not perform it.

"Haruno-slut will _not_ kiss _my_ Sasuke-kun!" she screamed as two boys dragged her off the stage, with Sasori inwardly rolling his eyes in disappointment, as time was up.

"I'll have to dismiss you now," he said grudgingly to his class. "Everything was perfect until the _end_." He sent a terrifying and cold glare towards Akina, who cringed inwardly at the frustration and anger that shown in his eyes, though it was controlled and well masked. "So I _hope _that this doesn't happen _again_ during the performance tomorrow."

Hinata raised her hand timidly, with her sensei giving a quick nod towards her direction, signaling her to speak. "Ano...Sasori-sensei, how would you like us to hand out the programs? All of us just taking turns and giving them all over the school, just specific people, or something like that?"

The red-head lowered his head in thought. "I suppose Uchiha and Haruno will just hand them out at the entrance in their costumes. After all, they'll stand out, and the costumes are nicely designed. I must say that I am quite impressed, and I apologize for underestimating your skill." Hinata gave a weak reply of protest before the cotton-candy-haired girl began to speak once more.

"Which costumes, sensei?" Sakura asked, praying to herself that she wouldn't get what she thought her strange drama teacher wanted to wear.

Like, please, please, _please_ give her pretty, shiny, and warm battle armor for the last scene!

"Uchiha, have the most formal one. Haruno, the scarlet one," he answered simply without lifting his head. Sakura was going to stomp her feet in protest if she didn't have so much self-control.

"**DAMMIT! THAT THING IS SO THIN!!" **Sakura screamed in her mind. Her inner sighed, tapping her chin with a slender finger pensively.

'Well...it's pretty...?'

"**Haha, **_**very **_**funny,"** Sakura thought very sarcastically, almost rolling her eyes at her other self,** "Sasuke has so many layers...lucky-ass...though he isn't even scared of the cold."**

'Hm, you want to wear his clothes instead, my dear?' inner Sakura taunted.

"**Shanarro! Hell no! That'd be...scary. And it's too big. And I'll drag the pretty cape Hinata made. And the thing will be all baggy. And I won't be able to move. And Sasuke-kun won't like looking filthy for the play, though he already has to. And I'm going to feel bad. A—"**

'Urusai. I'm tired of your ranting. Please, just stop listing all these things,' inner Sakura pleaded rather uncharacteristically, 'It makes me feel guilt. And only _you _are supposed to feel that. And if I feel guilt, you'll feel bad as well. Then, your own guilt will crawl into your mind and happen to drive you crazy.'

"**...Teach me some debate skills sometime, will you?"**

Inner Sakura grinned devilishly. 'Oh, _only_ if you let me kick in and take over for that time. I guarantee that you will win the debate with Sasu—"

Sakura immediately cut off their link when she thought she knew what her inner was about to say, and really, she didn't want to hear it.

Letting her inner take over was too risky, especially if a) her inner wouldn't let her take control again, b) the play was tomorrow and _she_ was able to screw _everything _up, especially with the lead role, and c) she wouldn't be able to put her conscious mind to sleep with her inner partying about how _she_ was now in control and not _her_, and as a result, she would be as tired as hell the next day. Sakura could imagine the scene vividly, with confetti that was previously homework and her library book thrown all over in her own head, and possibly her room as well. A quick shiver ran down her spine at the thought.

Librarians were _very_ scary and dangerous.

Especially when they threaten to hit you with a seven inch encyclopedia.

However, instead of moping around, Sakura sauntered out of the auditorium in high spirits, pushing her inner's yelling and screaming to the back of her mind until it became so muffled that nothing except a very, very, _very_ faint droning sound could be heard. You could even speak over it, and it didn't bother Sakura as much, of course, compared to the loud rambling that was usually in her mind.

Yet...she still felt troubled. She racked her brain over and over, not even skipping the part where her inner was yelling, yet she still couldn't understand why she was getting this nagging feeling that something was wrong. This feeling that something was missing – it was killing her. Her head hurt slightly and there was a sharp pain in her chest.

"**What the hell?! What **_**is**_** this?"** Sakura thought, trying to suppress the urge to hug herself so the throbbing pain would stop, because that would certainly cause attention.

She realized the pain wasn't that sharp, but it _hurt_. It was continuous, as if it would never stop. She felt woozy and dizzy and worn out, but she didn't really do anything that day. And it wasn't the type of light-headedness you got from being sick, it was just like...you _needed_ something. Something that _had_ to be there, or you were lost.

And suddenly, every single hallway in sight seemed to have rearranged themselves, she realized, and she was confused and hurt...somehow. She stumbled over to a wall in the empty hallway and began to lean on the wall, clutching the fabric of her navy blue uniform even tighter than before. She felt warm tears well up in her mint green eyes before she felt a falling sensation. Instantly, she was going through the wall and into dark space, sobbing as she fell for what seemed like forever...

Fading, into the blue air...

Fading into the purple darkness...

Eventually fading into pitch black.

All Sakura could do was feel lost, whimper, and wish that somebody would save her like the other times.

* * *

"...She's awake." 

Those were the first familiar words Sakura heard when she opened her eyes, sitting up in the familiar nurse's room once again, since she was often brought here, whether by injury or practice with Tsunade. The plain white walls were brighter from the bright light, contrasting to the space Sakura just remembered floating in.

She wasn't surprised again to see all her friends leaning on the wall, standing, sitting, or just kneeling in worry, though almost everyone had their eyes closed. The only person with their eyes open was Tsunade, and even she seemed to be extremely tired, as if she was watching over her the whole time.

Ino, whose head was on the bed, stirred slightly, trying desperately to open her sapphire blue eyes and see her friend awake. Sakura lay a gentle, pale hand on Ino's hair, telling her that she could rest. When her blond friend was settled, she lifted her hand quickly, moved her sleeve up slightly, and flicked her wrist so her watch was visible.

10:23 PM.

Of course, this was early to most of them, but their vigorous drama teacher had taken the play very seriously, overworking them at times. Everyone was much too exhausted to sleep at their usual hours (yet, Shikamaru slept at this time anyway), so it was reasonable that they were asleep.

The elderly blonde tucked behind loose strands of hair, her amber eyes glancing curiously at Sakura.

"What happened?" her perfectly thin, pink lips asked in something just a little above a whisper, very unusual of the boisterous woman. "Sakura...you aren't sick, you have no injuries, Naruto and Sasuke just said you...collapsed while you were leaving the auditorium."

Sakura paused, her jade green eyes flickering with confusion and disbelief as she watched her sensei straighten herself into the familiar prideful position she sat in. She crossed her legs, the green and grey of her clothing shifting a bit, her high heels now visible to Sakura. Her brown eyes seem to pierce directly through Sakura, with a sharp, inquiring gaze that made Sakura feel very uncomfortable.

After a pregnant and awkward pause, Sakura drew in a breath, breaking the tension filled air. Her lips parted slight, Tsunade narrowing her gaze at her pupil, concentrating hard on what her answer would be.

Instead, her pupil began to cry after choking out a weak, "I don't know."

The words tumbled off her lips perfectly, as if she had been rehearsing it several times in her brain. Her sobbing caused everybody to wake up, with Naruto jumping up and giving Sakura a friendly hug first, even faster than the shocked Tsunade, who was sitting right beside her.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?!" his voice boomed. Everyone stood/sat rigidly before heading toward the girl.

Tenten sighed and gave a small smile. "Sakura, you end up here more than Hinata," she said teasingly. "I can't believe you made us stay here this late this time. For the love of Kami, we can't even go to our homes and sleep peacefully anymore?"

Sakura pouted at Tenten, who lightly punched her arm and reassured her that she was just joking, and she truthfully wasn't offended at all. Sakura gave her a bright smile in return, apologizing to the others for making them worry and stay at school so late.

"...Sakura-chan," Naruto said in more positive voice than before, "what happened? You just...fell after you walked through the door. At least somebody was behind you..."

"...Naruto, Tsunade-shishou, guys...I don't know what happened," Sakura replied truthfully, "It happened differently to me. I got out of the door and I just felt so exhausted and...like somebody broke my heart or something...I don't know."

Sasuke stiffened when he heard her words, and became extremely curious about the matter. Did something happen to her that seriously hurt her?

"...I don't have any...relationships...but it just throbbed," Sakura explained, "and I leaned against a wall, only to fall through it...and it was all dark. Just kept falling..." Her voice faded and she seemed to space out, her eyes hazy and distant, as if she was staring right past them.

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure out what was wrong. Could she be undergoing some emotional phase?

Finally telling herself and the others that nothing was wrong, she shrugged and ordered them all to go home.

She gave a mischievous grin before they left the room, whispering more to herself than the others.

"After all, tomorrow is the cultural festival!"

"**And the best part is: **_**I ordered sake!**_**"**

Tsunade then paled a considerable amount.

"**How am I going to hide it from the students?...Not to mention the staff...dammit."**

* * *

"Now, honey, make sure not to get lost in the school! Stick with your sister!" 

A small elementary boy smiled and waved, holding his older sister, who was probably in her first year of middle school, by the hand. She had a small pink wallet in her hand and waved to her mother, before kindly turning to her brother to ask if he wanted something.

They passed through the gates, where Sakura gave a charming smile and handed the program to the little boy and one to the girl. The girl stared up at Sakura's magnificent (and not so warm) dress with sparkles in her eyes, while the little boy blushed slightly.

"Hm, come see the show later in the auditorium! You could just ask around, 'kay?" Sakura said kindly, Sasuke rolling his eyes at the sweet act she put on for them. Before she was mumbling like she was PMS-ing or something.

"Hai, arigatou!" the two children squealed in unison.

Sakura caught his action from the corner of her eye as she spoke to the two siblings. The two children scurried off to buy some food and take a look at some games. She straightened herself to her full height, and was significantly shorter than Sasuke, who smirked when he looked down at her. She had one eyebrow raised, a questioning expression on her face. As the cold wind blew, she swept away her semi-wavy locks (Ino did them in the morning when they got there early) and shivered.

"What is it, _Hiroshi_," Sakura asked, poking him in the chest where his costume got very fluffy. It was one of those old styled ones that had many ruffles around the chest area, and then a dark vest over it. Over him was a coat/cape that was a very dark blue, almost black.

To tell you the truth, Sasuke looked a little bit like a vampire.

And...well...dammit, he was a _sexy_ looking vampire dude.

Well...that's what Sakura thought.

Aw, shit, that was bad. Sasuke was her _friend_.

She shook her head and let out a sigh before getting back to handing out the programs. Sasuke shrugged the matter off and continued to hand things out.

The cold wind blew once again before Sakura shivered as she tried to hand the program out to two woman in what seemed to be their early forties. Suddenly, the two woman squealed childishly.

First, Sakura thought it was because Sasuke was there.

But when she felt a warm weight on her shoulders, a dark material draping over her elegant crimson outfit, she began to finger the lace at her cuffs and reconsider. She looked up and met Sasuke's onyx eyes, as he gave her a small grin before returning to his post.

Sakura smiled gratefully and realized the two women were still staring at her with hearts in her eyes, even after she gave out the program. When the two women finally moved along, they quickly turned around after glancing at the program.

"So you two are...Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura?" one woman asked, clad in a warm brown coat. Both students nodded. "So you're playing the lead roles?" Again the friends nodded, confused at what this insane woman was getting you.

"Aww," the second woman cooed, "You guys make such a cute couple! It's no wonder they chose you two! We're going to stop by and watch! Ja, Uchicha-san, Haruno-san!"

Sakura blushed furiously at the comment, burying herself in Sasuke's coat, only to smell the scent of him all over, causing her to blush even more. Not that he smelled bad – it was actually the opposite – but at the moment she felt so embarrassed! Two woman had just said she and Uchiha Sasuke, the most chased after guy in Konoha High and even more, made a good couple!

But she was glad that their relationship had improved – that is from the beginning of the school year. It seemed as Sasuke didn't even open up or speak much, but gradually he became more willing and comfortable with her presence. She smiled softly to herself before lifting her head again, staring at Sasuke, who managed to keep his cool and still have a rather expressionless face.

He turned to look at her curiously, tilting his head to the side very innocently, so innocently that Sakura just wanted to walk up to him and give him a hug.

But of course, she didn't.

"Why are you smiling so happily, princess?" he asked. "We're merely handing out papers."

"Nothing," Sakura replied, seeing the tilt of his lips immediately, "nothing that you should be glad about!" She laughed quickly afterwards, because she thought, indeed that contrary to what she said, it _was_ something to be happy about.

"Woah, those two look so nice together!" one girl whispered to her friend, with Sakura hearing. "I'm so jealous! That guy is so hot!" Her friend took a glance at Sasuke and nodded in agreement. She then looked at Sakura for a moment.

"The girl is really pretty too," the second girl said. "I hope when we come here, they'll still be around."

They were probably almost in high school, since they seemed quite tall and mature. Most likely in their third year of junior high.

Instead of displaying a red face, Sakura smiled brightly at the two, handing them both programs. They smiled back and nodded in appreciation.

"I'm totally watching this play," they said simultaneously when they were a few steps away, since they finished reading the summary.

"Definitely," they uttered, both turning to each other and laughing at what they just both said and did at the same time.

"Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chyaaaaaaaan! We've gotta get in there and stuff! Almost time for the show! Just some acts and we're on!" Naruto yelled, rushing past the two surprised girls, who just blinked before continuing once more. They nodded, but not without letting a 'dobe' or 'Naruto no baka' slip out of their mouths.

"I _heard_ that guys! Look, I even brought you guys dango!" Naruto exclaimed. He stared at Sasuke, scrutinizing him before glancing at Sakura. What had happened was evident. "Ooooooo, Sasuke-teme, _I told you so_!" Sasuke hit him on the head while Sakura stared at the two boys in utter confusion – nothing more, nothing less.

After all, this was to be expected of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship.

* * *

"Is everything ready?" Kiba asked Shikamaru through their communicator. 

"Yes," the genius's voice droned, obviously bored out of his mind. "Fine, actually. The curtains are working correctly, right?"

"Yep, and Shino's got all the backgrounds set-up so we can switch faster," Kiba answered, waiting for the lazy boy's reply.

"Go tell Sasori. And go get that band ready. They're up first," Shikamaru said, taking out his script and program so he knew which lights to turn on and when.

Today, to help the production, Tenten was going to be doing the announcements for the whole show, which included all the acts, the play, intermissions, and so on. She took out the program with all the markings of when she should say what and tucked a brown strand behind her ear. As she put her headphones on, Neji entered the room and took a seat, showing her that he was helping when he put his own headphones on.

"What do you think you are doing??!" Tenten hissed.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Helping, what do you think?" he answered back. Tenten sighed.

"You idiot, can you just stop butting into _my_ jo—"

A loud cough in the audience was heard, and Tenten turned to the "On Air" button, to see the red light was on and flashing.

"**Shit! Sasori-sensei is going to **_**kill**_** me!"**

Tenten cleared her throat briefly before coughing falsely and beginning to read.

"Ohayo, minna-san! I'm Tenten, your announcer for today's show, and with me is Hyuuga Neji as my assistant," Tenten exclaimed in an upbeat voice, Neji scowling at what she called him, "Today's show will only last about two and a half hours, with some bands playing to open up the show! Right now, we have Enchanted Grace playing! This band of seniors has been popular since their premiere in freshmen year! Give them a round of good-bye applause, and wish them good luck with the next school year!"

The crowd cheered and applauded for the band as the very pretty singer adjusted her microphone and smiled charmingly, flinging her long, brown hair behind her head. The soft, soothing music began to be played, and the musicians got into the song. Her thin lips parted, and a flow of beautiful words left her lips in a calming melody.

_tooku ni hikaru ano hoshi futari miagete  
kimi ni deatta unmei o omou  
nanigenai furide te no hira furete miru kedo  
kimi ha yasashiku hohoemi dakede_

_Together, looking up at that distantly shining star  
and thinking it was destined that we met,  
pretending to be casual, I try to touch your palm, but  
you only smile gently._

This song, felt touching and gentle...yet...also nostalgic. As if she experienced something like it. Sakura closed her eyes and began to sway, to the song, mouthing the lyrics perfectly. Slowly, she began to whisper them softly to herself.

_kimochi ga tsuyoku naru to fuan no kazumo fuete yuku kara  
ichido dakishimeta kokoro ha donna toki mo hanasanai de_

_Since these feelings are getting stronger and the number of worries are  
increasing,  
never let go of the heart you once embraced, no matter what happens._

For some reason, Sasuke felt that what he was experiencing was very similar to the lyrics of this song, as if the singer was _trying _to make him remember everything and...actually _have_ emotions.

_hiroi uchyuu ni hitori dake no  
kimi ga soba ni ite kureru nara  
koware ta toki no hari mo yagate  
yukkuri ugokidasu mirai he  
kimi ha sono mamade ite_

_In this vast universe,  
if I can keep staying near just you alone,  
even though the clock-hand of broken time  
soon starts to move slowly toward the future,  
stay just as you are, just like this._

Sakura almost gasped, when she realized that it was similar to what had happened to her yesterday. She felt, lost, alone, with nobody at all. Perhaps there was somebody that was always making her feel better?

_nagareru hoshi ni negai o sotto tsubuyaku  
"Kimi to isshoni iraremasu youni..."  
kono jikan dake o GARASU no hako ni tojikomete  
zutto nagamete ire tara ii no ni_

_I whisper this wish softly to the flowing stars:  
"I pray that I can always be with you..."  
Close up just this one part of time in a glass box,  
even though it would be better if it could always be seen._

Sometimes, Sasuke truly _did_ wish he could always be with Sakura – to protect her, to be her friend, to make her happy. So when she cried, he'd hate it. It was as if it was _his_ fault...and he blamed himself sometimes.

_yasashii kimi no egao fuan de kumo rasetakunai kara  
namidashita kunaru toki ni ha kono yozora o omoidasu yo_

_Since I don't want to make your gentle smile be clouded by worries,  
when I want to start crying, I think of this night sky._

She could truly use this to cry less, to make herself stronger, so her friends didn't have to worry anymore. So Tsunade didn't have to worry. So Shizune didn't have to worry. So _Sasuke _didn't have to worry...

_hiroi uchyuu ni taata futari no  
shiawase no basho o mitsuketa ne  
koko ni aru no ha tsuki to hoshi to  
futari o __tsutsumu yoru no kaze to  
kimi he no omoi dake_

_In this vast universe, we found the place  
where just the two of us can be happy, didn't we?  
Here there are moon and stars and  
thr night wind that wraps the two of us up together and  
my feelings about you alone._

Sasuke leaned against the wall, just wondering if something like this could come true. It was slightly like the play that Hinata had written. It bore a resemblance to life as well...

_tooi kuni kara tadoritsuita  
kimi ha ano hikaru hoshi Shooting Star  
taemanaku sou matataku youni  
mirai mo kimi mo dakishimeru to  
kono yozora ni chigau_

_You, who struggled here from that far country,  
are that shining star. Shooting Star  
Incessantly -- yes, like twinkling.  
I swear to this night sky  
that I will embrace both you and the future._

Sakura opened her eyes as the music faded, faint sniffling heard from the speakers when Tenten turned them on. As she listened to the lyrics, she couldn't help but wonder who that 'you' was in the last line.

"Wow...-sniffle-that was amazing! ...-sniffle-Give it up for Enchanted Grace!" Tenten exclaimed, trying to hold back her tears. She switched off the radio as the members of Enchanted Grace bowed and left the stage, the velvet curtains drawing and closing, blocking the stage from the audience.

"Why are you crying?" Neji said, a little bit distraught by the emotional Tenten.

"It was so-sniffle-touching!" she exclaimed, giving him a hug and sobbing on his shoulder, where as he patted her back lightly.

"It's okay...calm down...it was just a song..." he said soothingly. "Um, try not to make too much noise, I'm going to announce the play now." Tenten nodded as he switched on the radio.

"Next performance is a play written by my cousin, Hyuuga Hinata of class 1-3. The all roles and effects, including the curtains, are done by this generous class. Please give them a round of applause!" Neji said in his most enthusiastic voice.

"No, that's not how you do it, Neji!" Tenten screeched, causing everyone in the auditorium to wince.

"Tenten—no wait! The radio is still on!" Neji exclaimed.

"Huh?...Oh, oops. Sorry guys!" Tenten apologized. A small 'click' was heard before you could no longer hear Tenten and Neji arguing.

The curtains opened to reveal Ino, dressed in a blue themed dress, with a layer of elegant armor on her shoulder blades and chest. She wore dark blue boots that went up to just below her knees, and her hair was fashioned in a neat bun with a dark blue ribbon. She carried a rapier on her waist.

Kneeling, 'Lilith' bowed to the 'king'.

"Your majesty, I'm afraid that the supplies for the ninth elite unit are running low, and they have just been recently ambushed," she said in a grave voice. She seemed to choke on some words.

"Anything else, Lady Lilith?" the 'king' boomed. He was dressed in silver armor with a red cape on his back.

"...Y-yes," 'Lilith' stuttered. "...The...your majesty, Sir William has died in the ambush. They now have no captain, and things are going amiss."

There was a pause as the 'king' pretended to think. "Lady Lilith, ride with me there. We will be leading them as a substitute."

"Yes, your majesty," 'Lilith' said with uneasiness, "but the chances of you dying are high. Yukiko is not old enough to take on the task of—"

"Do not underestimate me," he stated. "We shall leave soon. Let us go. Lady Lilith, pack your bags and supplies. Bring your steed to the front gates, and we will ride there. And Lilith?"

"Yes, your majesty?" she replied, turning her blue eyes toward the 'king's' dark ones.

"If I don't make it...tell Yukiko that I love her."

'Lilith' paused before nodding firmly. The curtains closed, and quick shuffling was heard before once again, the stage was revealed, with several figures cloaked in black were standing above 'bloody' bodies, as if a battle had just commence. The 'heavily wounded king' stood with the panting 'Lilith' who had blood trailing from the corner of her lip.

"Hn. Is this all your kingdom has?" one man taunted, who unknown to the audience was Sasuke playing as Hiroshi. "Quite pathetic. Even the king cannot match our forces? Che, what a weak place. Why bother to even fight? Just sign a contract, and we'll take it the easy way, _your majesty_."

Sasori realized that Sasuke was completely fit for the part – mocking, sarcastic, sneering, arrogant, and all those other traits the Uchiha possessed.

'Lilith' wiped the blood from her lip with her gloved hand. "Do not speak to our king like that!" she exclaimed, charging towards the man, who quickly moved aside and attacked the still recovering king.

"Your majesty!" 'Lilith' cried as a 'sharp blade pierced through the king', who fell to his knees and to the floor, motionless as ever.

"Pah, how pathetic," 'Hiroshi' sneered, "_This_ is all the _king_ can do?...You..." he cast a glance at 'Lilith, who was on the floor, "...you are not even worth killing. Let's go. The leader will definitely be glad to hear about this."

The black clad figures exited to the right as 'Lilith' clutched her stomach wound, struggling to stand. Running off to the left of the stage, she yelled, "I must tell the princess!"

Once again, the scene changed, and as Sakura passed by in a light blue gown, she whispered a quick congratulations to Sasuke for completing his first scene.

"Break a leg...literally," he said, smirking when Sakura was about to thank him. Instead, she changed her facial expression into a childish pout and stuck her tongue out before rushing onto stage and taking her position in front of the 'bandaged' Ino.

"Hey, nice job," Sakura whispered right before the curtains parted. Ino smiled and nodded as a thanks. "And thanks for doing my hair today."

"Don't sweat it," she replied quietly. The curtains finally parted, and the two rehearsed the scene like they did the first practice, yet with more emotion and without their scripts to tell them what to say. At first, Sakura was quite nervous, but after a few moments, she was able to see that she could remember everything.

Over a few scenes, Hiroshi was finally accepted as the princess's bodyguard.

That was, until her friend Akira met him.

"Hey, Yukiko-chan! What's up? I finally got back in one piece, you see!" Naruto exclaimed, playing Akira perfectly and walking into the scene where they were discussing the terms of their relationship – Hiroshi would protect Yukiko only when she needed him to, and otherwise she was free to do what she pleased.

"Eh, Yukiko, who's this guy?" 'Akira' asked. He circled 'Hiroshi' a few times before giving him a grin and nodding.

The cheerful man held out his tanned hand. "Hey! My name's U—Akira! Nice to meet you Sir...?"

"Hiroshi," he answered in a velvety voice.

"Hmmm...what's your business here? I haven't seen you before, but I s'pose I've been gone long enough, right Yukiko-chan?" 'Akira' said, nudging the princess slightly on the arm. The 'princess' glared slightly, which made 'Akira' quite worried and sad.

He frowned deeply, blue eyes filled with concern (who knew Naruto could be such a good actor?). He rested a friendly hand on her right shoulder. "Hey, Yukiko, I know your dad and Lilith...Well, don't be so worked up, 'kay? You've got me...and this Hiroshi guy, too," he said in a comforting way. 'Yukiko' clenched her fists tightly before releasing them once again.

"I'm sorry," she says quickly before leaving the room, or the stage in that matter.

Once she left, 'Akira' glared at 'Hiroshi'. "You better not hurt her even _more_."

However, for some strange reason, Sasuke felt as if Naruto was actually Naruto, and not acting. And they were really talking about Sakura, not Yukiko.

He was about to reply with a casual, "I won't, dobe," but he remembered it was the _play_. But Naruto's expression looked so serious and real that...everything seemed like it was really happening.

"...I have no intention of doing so," he said finally, thanking Kami that he remembered the correct lines, and it wasn't just something that flew out of his mouth. Naruto...or Akira, whichever one, gave him a grin, extending his hand once more.

"Good," he said, "Then we're friends. But if you do anything to her...I won't hesitate to fight you."

Sasuke thought the promise was all too true to just be a play...

The scenes went on, and finally, they were in the middle, where they revealed Hiroshi's real identity while he is speaking with his leader.

"Hiroshi, I demand you to tell me why you have to stall your reinforcements for so long. Can you not strike yet?" the 'captain', clad in the black uniform, asked the fancily dressed 'Hiroshi'.

"...It's not time yet. They are still too strong to attack. It must be when the princess is weakest," 'Hiroshi' lied, since he was already starting to display friendship or even more towards Yukiko, the princess of the opposing kingdom, even emotions that perhaps he was not fully aware of.

Most of the audience drew in a breath, wondering how they missed that this 'Hiroshi' was the person that had killed the king in the beginning.

The 'captain' growled lowly. "Hiroshi, you better hurry up. Do you _still_ not have enough information?"

'Hiroshi' narrowed his dark eyes. "You do not trust me, my lord. There is not enough information to infiltrate the area yet, my lord. That I swear. I must find the weakest points first, and then we may strike," 'Hiroshi' explained. "Once I can draw a map of this village without copying, I believe we will be ready."

Once again, the 'captain' growled. "Hir—"

"Hiroshi! Come over here and help Akira and me with the plans! Hurry!" Sakura yelled from backstage, loud enough so her voice would travel. 'Hiroshi' turned to his leader quickly before running to the left.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tenten voice rang crisply through the auditorium as the curtains closed once more. "This is the intermission. Thank you for watching the show thus far. Our students need water and other things, and I'm sure you'd all like a quick stretch! The show will begin in ten minutes, so make sure not to miss it! We'll have the finale very soon, and you wouldn't want to miss that!"

Mumbling broke out as soon as Tenten's voice clicked off, and the auditorium had many people standing up to stretch, get a snack or beverage, or go to the bathroom. The auditorium only had a few that were left inside, sitting and waiting patiently for the show to start again.

"**Oh shit..."** Sasuke thought as he was reminded of what scene this was.

He stepped into his spot backstage beside Sakura, waiting for the signal to position themselves. Shikamaru had done a great job on getting the blood to look realistic in the scene, which was extremely hard and nearly impossible, even for a genius like him. However, in the end, everything turned out okay, with a little bit of help from Tsunade.

"Hey, how are you?" Sakura asked. "I wonder how we're going to do. And I really can't imagine you killing Naruto...it's unreal, don't you think?" She looked up at him with her innocent eyes.

"I guess," he replied, deciding he needed to change from his usual answer of 'hn's and 'aa's, which tended to annoy people to the brink of insanity (_especially_ if Itachi was doing it...for the love of Kami, that was just torture).

"How do you feel?" the petite girl questioned again. She sighed deeply. "This scene...it's so depressing..." she mused. Sasuke nodded, which seemed to surprise her, because it seemed as if he wasn't listening to him at all.

After a long pause, Sasuke sighed deeply, finally coming to complete realization of his own feelings towards Sakura.

"I can't do this," Sasuke admitted, running a frustrated hand through his hair out of habit.

"Why? We were okay during rehearsal," Sakura asked worriedly.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "I _can't_ kiss you." His eyes refused to meet her green ones for the time being, and he turned away to look at a nearby wall.

"...Why?" Sakura asked, taking a step closer to him. "Do it for the play, Sasuke-kun, for the class, for Hinata, for Naruto, for _me_..." Sakura wondered why such a selfish line popped into her mouth and forced her to say it, but she decided she would to _anything_ to make Hinata happier at this point. She'd worked so hard to make this play perfect, and Sasuke was just going to ruin the finale?!

"I can't Sakura," Sasuke said quickly. "...I have my reasons. I can't. I'm sorry, Sakura. I just _can't_ kiss you..."

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said faintly. She knew she got his attention, though he did nothing to show he was listening to her, "I'm your friend, right?"

"...Yes," he replied after a long pause.

"Hello, welcome back everyone!" Tenten yelled through her microphone. "The show will start in just about two minutes. Please wait patiently! Thank you for your support!"

"Well, if I'm your friend," Sakura continued, ignoring Tenten's announcement completely. She locked her eyes with Sasuke's and gave him a smile. "Please remember...that we're friends okay? We'll always be friends no matter what. 'Kay? So, don't worry...Let's see...okay, this kiss...won't count, okay?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"So like, it's just for the play!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes sparkling. "So, it won't be a first kiss, if it is...It won't count! You get it now?"

Sasuke shrugged, but Sakura dragged him onto stage, where Naruto was already waiting.

"C'mon, we can do it, ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura cheered. "Right, Naruto?" Naruto nodded. "Get ready guys...we're going to blow the audience away."

And despite all his worries and concerns, for some reason, Sasuke found himself smiling when he pulled out his 'sword' and drew it, looking at Naruto in the eye.

"You better go all out, Naruto," Sasuke said.

"You bet, teme," he replied, grinning right before the curtain opened.

It showed everyone was covered in blood, with the princess and Akira on one side, Hiroshi on the other, swords drawn and ready in battle.

"I _knew_ this guy was some liar!" 'Akira' shouted. "Why did you believe him, Yukiko?!"

"No, no, no, it's not true," 'Yukiko' said, dropping to her knees and holding her head. "No, no, NO, just SHUT UP! IT'S NOT TRUE!"

"Face the reality, my princess," 'Hiroshi' sneered. "I am what I am, and I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do. And that, is to kill you."

Despite how confusing the line was, Sasuke managed to say it correctly, much to everyone's relief.

"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! You lied to her! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" 'Akira' yelled, charging at his opponent mercilessly. He whipped out his sword, but before he could attack, 'Hiroshi stabbed' him. It looked quite real due to the effects that Shikamaru managed to put on, and many people gasped as the blood splattered onto the floor.

The tear-stained face of 'Yukiko' whipped up, and instead of crying out loudly, she only whispered her friend's name faintly. "Akira...you...you...you..." She looked up to face the emotionless Hiroshi, standing up and steadying herself. She brought her arms up, as if she was about to embrace him.

"Kill me," she said softly yet firmly.

"Why?" 'Hiroshi' asks in a hushed tone.

"Because," she explained, no tears flowing down her cheeks at all, "I thought maybe you gave me a reason to live. Maybe Lilith did, too. And so did father and...Akira. My mother...she gave me the opportunity to live...and I suppose...I just wasted it. And...everyone is gone now. You aren't the person I thought you were. Everything's wrong. Did...did all those memories mean nothing to you? Is that why you were able to kill Akira? And father?"

"No...they did mean something...I suppose..." he said, putting his sword on her back. Everyone held their breath to see what would happen next, anticipating the next move.

"Then...are you sorry?" she asked quietly.

"...No."

"I see..." she croaked in a raspy, unclear voice. "Please, then, proceed with killing me. The kingdom shall fall. I cannot do a thing. What a pity." She smiled at him so very, very bitterly. "It wouldn't have worked anyway."

The sword began to 'pierce' through her, as she gasped and more blood was shed. But instead of stopping after he pierced through her, he continued onto himself, cutting himself as well.

"What...are...you...doing?" she asked in a weak but astonished voice. People were in tears now, watching as the scene happened.

"Hm...don't worry...it'll work...somehow...somewhere..." he said softly. He brought his free hand to her hand and tangled their fingers together.

"I love you," he whispered very silently, so that even the audience had to strain in order to hear, but it was still audible.

"I...I love you, too," she murmured. They leaned in as they both began to slump down onto the floor, and the curtains closed just when their lips were a centimeter apart.

There were cries and applause, and the three cast members on stage were joined by the others before the curtains rose again and they al bowed as the whooping and clapping continued. Hinata was pushed to the front and bowed very quickly, before scurrying back into the group.

"I guess we didn't have to kiss in the end," Sakura mumbled. "That would've been my first..."

"Aa..." he replied in agreement.

"But that wouldn't have counted anyway, right?" Sakura asked. Sasuke didn't answer, too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"**I'm going to have to thank Kiba for that."**

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:** Double Birthday Bash! Ino & Shikamaru 

"Ino, get down here! Shikamaru's here! And it's for _both_ of you guys!" Sakura yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Mmmmmm!" Ino whined, stuffing her head in her pillow.

"We brought presents!" Sakura chanted.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"We bought clothes!"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"I even made cake...if you don't want it, we'll eat it. I'm gonna cu—Why good morning, Ino," Sakura said when she saw her friends hands grab her two wrists.

"I'm awake, I'm awake..." Ino mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yes, but you might want to change..." Tenten said sheepishly.

"Oh..." Ino said. There was an awkward pause before Ino moved again, climbing up the stairs and hoping that she wasn't too humiliated.

_Why _exactly did she give Sakura that key?

* * *

A/N: Woah, long chapter. :) Well, longer than usual. Anyway, I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but I warned you. There's a reason I didn't make their first kiss in this chapter. 

Seriously, don't flame because of this. :(

So after this is basically like a bunch of fillers before the final arc. So...be excited, I suppose?

Haha, well, ja! And don't kill me! You have no idea how scared I am.

Kikoru x3

P.S. Remember I _**love**_ you guys!


	21. Chapter XXI: Ino & Shikamaru's Birthday

**High School Life!: Year 1**

Chapter XXI: Double Birthday Bash! Ino & Shikamaru

by –bell.esque

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto. Plus, I'm too lazy to pretend I do and then say I don't. xD

"Regular speech"

'Inner thoughts' (sometimes sounds, like 'boom')

"**Non-inner thoughts"**

* * *

A/N: HELLO! Glad you guys all enjoyed that last chapter and didn't flame me. xD I was thinking I would get some since they didn't kiss. But thanks for understanding that I just couldn't do it in the last chapter, which actually had the highest word count. And it was like sixteen pages long. Yay. I had fun though. Thank you to a thousand cranes for displaying so much understanding in to _why_ I didn't make the first kiss in the last chapter and sort of motivating me to continue writing this. I wasn't planning to end it/discontinue it anyway, but I was sent a friendly reminder about this story. :) Say a thank you.

So, so, so, I usually don't do dedications, but this one is to SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl for the long awaited ShikaIno! xD She's an awesome person, and well, she deserves this. I _know_ she's been dying to have some since that summer homework chapter. So this is dedicated to them, with hints of other pairings, of course. I need to stuff more NaruHina and NejiTen in here. x-x I have like none. O.O

Anyway, some Team Seven love for the beginning (well...like half after I finished writing it x-x). Yes, _not_ SasuSaku. Team seven friendship. :D

Oh, yes and I apologize for being _so_ late. How many months, guys? Over half a year. Holy _shit_.

It's just my school has been a lot tougher than I thought it would be and it's a little bit hard to handle at the moment. I also have to stay after school during December, January, and February to manage a basketball team, so please forgive me! I know this chapter won't be spectacular, nor will it be longer. Though I do wish I could write something better for you guys, I doubt that this chapter will satisfy you enough.

-sigh- My A/N's are _way_ too long. Nobody reads them anyway. Haha.

Also, my writing seems to be a _little_ bit different. Especially towards the end. Hm, I'm not really sure why. Probably my long absence.

* * *

Sakura woke up on a bad note today, with the blazing sound of her alarm clock. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the hateful alarm clock to find that it was _six in the morning_.

Nobody is happy at that time.

_Especially_ if it was a Saturday.

And it _just_ happened to be the happy Saturday of September 22.

Wait a second...

It was Shikamaru's birthday! (and soon to be Ino's)

Bad, bad, _bad_ she had to bake the cake! Sakura leaped out of her bed and into the bathroom, getting ready as quickly as possible. Her house phone rang while she was brushing her teeth, and she mentally cursed the person that would call at _this_ time. And just when she was brushing her teeth. _Excellent. _

Anyway, she had to pick up her phone, so Sakura ran back out of the bathroom after spitting out the foam in her mouth, toothbrush still in hand.

"Hewo?" she answered, not liking the fact that some foam was still in her mouth.

"_Hm...so you're brushing your teeth?"_

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled, getting white liquid all over her phone, "Oops. Be right back." She ran to her bathroom and pulled out a Kleenex tissue to wipe her phone, just hoping that the next person that used it would be cautious. It had her spit all over it.

_Ew..._

She took this time to rinse out her mouth and place her toothbrush back to prevent such a disaster from happening _again_.

"Why do you call this early?!" she screamed into the phone, hoping that Sasuke would become deaf on the other line, so she didn't even have to talk to him.

"..."

"Sasuke-kun, are you there?!" she asked worriedly.

"..."

"Did you hang up?" She heard rustling, and she knew somebody was still there. Her eyes widened.

He really _was_ deaf now!

"Sasuke-kun, do you need to go to a doctor to check your hearing?" she asked in a serious tone. "Since if you can't here this, something has to be wrong..."

"_No, not really. There just happens to be something called being preoccupied,"_ he drawled. Sakura huffed.

"Well, don't pretend," she said in a stern voice, "I was really scared. Teme."

She heard him click his tongue once before sighing. _"Naruto is rubbing off of you. Just telling you that you only have about an hour to get that cake ready."_

"..."

"WHAT?!"

"_Hn. I think you heard me, Sa-ku-ra."_

"SASUKE, YOU BETTER NARUTO AND YOUR LITTLE ASS INTO MY FUCKING HOUSE BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

"_Whatever."_

'_Click'_

"**At least he listened...right?" **Sakura said, sighing and pulling on a red knit long sleeve shirt.

'I don't know, dahing,' inner Sakura replied, 'Maybe he ignored you and just said yes.'

"**He's not like that! If he is, I'm gonna kick his ass!" **Sakura yelled back, pulling on some black sweatpants as well, **"You give so much false information! What makes this time any better?!"**

'You have no faith, dear,' inner Sakura said in a soft voice. 'Wh—'

"**Cut the crap, lady! Naruto and Sasuke **_**will**_** come."**

'You aren't god, you wouldn't know.'

"**Why you b—"**

'_Ding dong'_

'_Ding dong'_

"SAAAAAAAAKURA-CHYAAAAAAAAAAAN! OPEN UP! IT'S ME AND TEME!!"

Sakura smirked. **"Ha. I win."**

'Pfft...with my excellent debate skills, you _wouldn't_ ha—'

"**Urusai. I was definitely doing that on my own! Stop taking all the credit!" **Sakura drowned out her inner's screams and ran to the door, opening it with a scarily sweet smile plastered on her flushed face.

"Get in here, you two," she said through gritted teeth moments later, still grinning, "We've got some work to do, and I'm _not_ gonna do it alone."

Naruto brightened. "Oh! Are we testing the cake? Huh, huh, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto whined, jumping up and down. Sakura's smirk widened.

"Oh, no, Naruto," she said eerily, causing Sasuke to try and leave the area, if only she hadn't grabbed him by the back of his shirt, "You two are going to _help_ me _make_ the cake, not eat it."

"Um..." Naruto said unsurely, fidgeting with his orange shirt, "...Could you say that again, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly. "You heard me ramen boy. Emo kid, get the aprons," the rosette commanded, pulling out a light pink apron of her own. Sasuke gladly chose the last one, since it wasn't _pink_ or _orange_, just dark blue, much to his relief. But still...

He felt girlish wearing an _apron_. Sure, he knew how to cook...but I felt awkward...like baking a cake for, dare he say it, some _friends_ for their birthday.

His birthday was _not_ fun. Why was it just _his_? (Okay, he was excluding the Hyuuga's.)

Well, except the part where they ate cake. Sakura worked wonders with her skills in baking...yes...even Uchiha Sasuke admitted this.

What was wrong with him exactly?

In Naruto's head, he was thinking about the horrors he would have to face if he didn't listen to Sakura, and he paled a considerable amount, only a little darker than Sasuke, who had a naturally pale complexion. The only thing keeping him so tan was his own natural skin color.

He really didn't want to help with this 'project' unless it was devouring the scrumptious pastries that Sakura made. The only thing she got out of her was that her grandparents used to own a successful bakery, and over the summers when she was smaller, she'd go over and help out a little bit.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun, get in here," Sakura yelled from the kitchen, "Why the hell are you guys so slow? We only have an hour!"

"Actually, Sakura, I lied. We have three..."

...The quiet before the storm.

"...SASUKE!! GET YOUR SORRY ASS IN HERE WITH THAT IDIOT, _NOW_!" Sakura shrieked, "YOU'RE GOING TO HELP _ANYWAY_!"

"Which idiot is Sakura-chan talking about, teme? Because she said your name already..." Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke rolled his eyes before walking off and saying, "You."

Naruto let the word 'you' process in his mind before screaming, "HEEEEEY!" and rushing to follow Sasuke for fear of experiencing Sakura's wrath once _again_.

Yes, she was not very pretty when _that_ happened.

Thus, all three were in the kitchen, the two belonging to the male species watching the green-eyed woman begin to stir something that was a light beige color, smoothing out lumps and bubbles. She had her pink hair tied in a small bun right behind her neck.

Slowly, her face turned to face the two boys, who both stiffened immediately, Sasuke doing so in a less noticeable manner. She glared, her piercing green gaze making the two boys straighten even more. She stuck her small nose in the air before getting back to mixing. The Sharingan wielder cursed his weakness, while the fox boy just glanced nervously around the room at anything _but_ Sakura. His gaze met Sasuke's for a second, before the dark haired boy scowled and loosened up, sticking his hands in his pockets and resuming his nonchalant façade.

"What do you think you guys are doing right now?" Sakura asked, without turning around, yet Naruto swore that her face was getting redder than her hair.

"N-n-nothing, S-s-sakura-chan," Naruto stuttered.

Sakura snorted. "You're worse than Hinata now..." she mumbled more to herself than anyone before raising her voice and turning around to flash a kind (not scarily sweet, thank god) smile, "and exactly, Naruto. You guys are doing _nothing_. What's wrong with that?"

"..." Sasuke chose to stay silent, not sure if Sakura was going to erupt full of killing intent, or stay her happy, content self.

Naruto, however, grinned widely, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "You aren't mad...right, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, of course not. I just wanted to see what happened if I acted that way!" Her melodic laughter was heard throughout the house, echoing ever so slightly. Sasuke had his left eye twitching, obviously not enjoying this 'act' of hers.

"But seriously," she said after she calmed down, "Help me. I can't get this finished alone."

"Okay, Sakura-chan!"

"Whatever."

Sakura half-smiled.

"Thanks guys. You're the best," she said, praising them shortly, "Now, Naruto, can you get me the chocolate frosting that's in the fridge? And Sasuke, grab me some eggs, please!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "No _–kun_ today, Sakura-_chan_?" he asked mockingly. Sakura snorted.

"I feel comfortable enough not to call you that anymore," Sakura said, crossing her arms and leaning against the marble counter, "Anyway, doesn't it remind you of those 'creatures' called 'fangirls'?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess, a little bit," he murmured.

"Those _things_ of yours," Naruto spat as he handed Sakura the bowl of chocolate frosting, "Are they really what we call _girls_? Like you know, pretty people that we are _supposed_ to like?"

"Urusai," Sasuke snapped, "Stop talking as if I'm gay."

Naruto shrugged, raising his eyebrows, "It could be possible!"

Sakura punched Naruto in the arm, which he rubbed slightly in pain. "Sasuke is _not_ gay!"

"B-but, Sakura-_chyaaaaaaaaan_!" Naruto whined. "He _i_—"

"Will you just let me finish?" Sakura said, "He's just asexual."

Sasuke scowled. "Hn. I am _not_. Maybe _you two_ are."

"We are not!" Naruto yelled, "Anyway, Sakura has boobs! AND I LIKE THEM."

Knuckle cracking suddenly filled the air. "What. Did. You. Say?"

"..." Naruto kept quiet, for once finally scared shitless.

"NARUTO!!" Sakura punched him and sent the orange-clad boy up the ceiling before he bounced back down and hit his backside.

"_Owww_! That hurts even more than flying through the air and landing!" Naruto yelled. Sakura rolled her sleeves up and began to mix again, hoping that the eggs weren't broken after the vibrations of Naruto's body against both the ceiling and the ground. Thankfully, they were not (and the ceiling wasn't broken), so she continued mixing.

"It's _your_ fault you're such a pervert," Sakura hissed, having no sympathy for the crying boy, "C'mon, guys. Just help me mix the other layers of the cake, and we can set them all in the oven to bake! Then we can frost, and that's all! Can't you at _least_ each butter a pan?"

"Okay, Sakura-chan," Naruto said obediently, not wanting to suffer further injuries (this was the reason why he was 'stupid' – brain cell loss), "Where are they?"

"The top cabinet on the far left," Sakura answered automatically, pointing just in case. Naruto grinned and looked inside to find many, many, _many_ pans. He gulped.

"Um..." Naruto said nervously, "Wh—"

"The three circular ones," Sakura replied quickly, turning around with her hands on her hips, "You boys need _everything_ spelled out to you, don't you?"

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, "See, I can spell 'circular' for you! S-I-R-Q-L-E-R! See!" Sakura shook her head, trying to cover up her laugh whiled Sasuke snickered to himself. Naruto frowned.

"Wasn't that right, Sakura-chan!?" he yelled. Sakura shook her head once again, her hair swaying slightly.

"No."

"AWWWW! But you guys throw me around like a punching bag! How do I have enough brain cells?!" Naruto complained. Sakura shrugged.

"Deal with it, Naruto," Sakura said, "Seriously, get mixing guys. We've wasted way too much time."

In silence, the three began to mix their own bowls. The chilly air was not broken by a single sound, except for the rhythmic sound of their wooden spoons clanking softly against the steel bowls. When all of them were finally finished, Sakura ordered the other two to butter the pans.

"The cake won't stick that way," she explained curtly. As she herself got to work, the two teenage boys took an bit of butter and began to spread it on the dark pans.

'_Plop'_

Not more than three seconds after work, Sasuke found himself in the dilemma.

A dilemma where his raven locks were covered suspiciously in a oily, beige substance.

Not being able to control his anger, he threw a piece at Naruto, whose hair was able to more or less conceal the butter. Sasuke frowned, very deep in thought on what to do.

Throw them into his eyes?

No, that was just _cruel_. Well, highly amusing, but he's be in trouble if Naruto somehow became 'blind'.

Throw it down his shirt?

No, that wouldn't really do anything. And that'd make Sakura mad at him _anyway_.

Throw it into his mouth after you stick fuzz all over it?

Okay, one, where was he going to get the fuzz anyway? Two, Sakura would get mad..._again_.

So what solution did he have?

But of course, to make it look like _Naruto _threw it at Sakura. He'd get revenge, _and_ Sakura wouldn't be mad at him.

Good, very good.

He tactically positioned himself behind Naruto and threw the piece of oily butter towards Sakura. She yelped, and Naruto turned his head and began to snicker, while Sasuke plastered an emotionless look on his face as he got back to his pan.

"NARUTO! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Mission success.

"Huh?!" Naruto said, whipping his head around fully to face Sakura, "I didn't do anything! I promise, Sakura-chan!" He began to flail his arms and make butter fly everywhere, including Sakura's head...and Sasuke's.

"Naruto," Sakura said in a deadly quiet voice, watching carefully as Sasuke turned around with a scowl. She narrowed her eyes when she saw a spark in his eye – the kind that you have in your eye right after you just destroyed your enemy-yet-still-your-best-friend's teddy bear when you're three.

"...You're off the hook," she finished, surprising both the boys. However, Naruto was very glad that he wasn't in trouble. He glanced quickly at Sasuke, who quickly began to work again.

"_Sasuke, dear,_" Sakura said very eerily, walking up very close to the taller boy. "Would you like a present?"

Sasuke didn't know what to answer. Yes, no, maybe so?

"..._Sure?_" he finally said. Sakura grinned.

'_Plop'_

"Here you go...Back to work!"

She stalked away and back to her own job.

"I hope you guys don't do that again...

"...because your faces will be _rearranged_."

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura finally arrived at the rather empty Yamanaka estate, already finding four of their friends, Hinata, Shikamaru, Neji, and Tenten, sitting and playing a small game of Chinese poker on the doorstep.

"Oh," Sakura said, exhaling her warm breath as she took a look at the cake, "You don't have the key, Shikamaru?"

"Why would _I_ have it?" he grumbled, cursing when Neji played a bomb of queens.

"Gotcha, didn't I, Nara?" the male Hyuuga said, snickering.

"Well, your parents _are_ best friends," Sakura mumbled, handing the cake to Sasuke for him to hold as she was digging through her pockets for keys to Ino's mansion. "Got it!"

"Not quite, Hyuuga," Tenten said, placing a bomb of kings right in front of their face.

"...Hm?" Neji said thoughtfully, "I thought somebody already played a king..."

"Nothing like that," Tenten said, swatting her hand. She leaned very close to his face, their noses touching, "You're just a sore loser." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Better put that back in before I actually do something with it," Neji retorted smartly, which caused Tenten to go red and pull back, slapping him playfully in the arm.

"Don't say things like that! You have no right anyway!" she screamed.

'_Click'_

"Shhh," Sakura said, putting her finger to her lips and pushing the door open carefully, "She might still be asleep...Not that she's a light sleeper anyway."

"Mannnn! Hinata-chan! How the hell did you have a bomb of _aces_?" Tenten exclaimed. "Who the hell shuffled anyway?!"

"You did," Neji replied, "Going to say that you cheated and got Hinata to win?"

"NO!" Tenten exclaimed when he started smirking. She sighed in annoyance before turning away. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. You just like seeing others lose."

"Sometimes," Neji admitted.

"Sometimes?!" Naruto yelled, finally speaking up during their game, "More like all the t—"

"Guys!" Sakura whined, "Get. In. The. House."

"Hai, Sakura-chan," Hinata replied, "Gomen nasai." She collected the cards and straightened them, putting them back in the right box and neatly tucking it into her pocket.

"...How troublesome, it doesn't even look like she's _awake_...If only I knew. I could've just slept in..."

Shikamaru continued to mumble complaints to himself when Tenten closed the door behind them. Their steps echoed throughout the house, clicking on the marble slightly.

"That _pig_," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, but still grinning. "Ino, get down here! Shikamaru's here! And it's for _both_ of you guys!" Sakura yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Mmmmmm!" Ino whined, stuffing her head in her pillow.

"We brought presents!" Sakura chanted.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"We bought clothes!"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"I even made cake...if you don't want it, we'll eat it. I'm gonna cu—Why good morning, Ino," Sakura said when she saw her friends hands grab her two wrists.

"I'm awake, I'm awake..." Ino mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yes, but you might want to change..." Tenten said sheepishly.

"Oh..." Ino said. There was an awkward pause before Ino moved again, climbing up the stairs and hoping that she wasn't too humiliated.

_Why _exactly did she give Sakura that key?

She tossed out some clothing that she thought would be enough, brushing her teeth, and tying her hair up. She grabbed a gray box that was wrapped very neatly, with a small black and white ribbon at the top. Glancing for a slight moment at her bandaged fingers, she wrapped her hands around the box and brought it to her chest.

"**I just hope this is good enough..."**

She knew she couldn't sew as well as Tenten, nor was she as crafty as Sakura, but she knew she had something that the other two didn't have much of.

Confidence.

Ino closed her eyes and hoped for the best when she went downstairs.

"Come _on_, Ino! We can't do _anything_ today if you're going to take _that _long!!"

"COMING, SAKURA!" Ino said, huffing. She thought about how her friend _completely _killed the mood she was getting into. She sighed deeply and checked her hair one last time, grabbed a matching coat, and walked down the stairs with one arm already through one sleeve of the warm cashmere. She nearly growled until she saw everyone there just waiting for her, even if a few of them looked bored or indifferent.

"Um, hi?" she said nervously, "Sorry that took so long, guys. Hehee, I was sleeping."

"No shit," Sakura deadpanned, "That's probably why you didn't open the door for Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, and Tenten. It's so obvious."

"Hey, don't try to ruin my birthday!" Ino shot back viciously.

"Well, it's Shikamaru's, too," Sakura added, causing Ino to bite her lip in remorse, "You made us, including him, wait so long for you. And it's _cold_ outside."

"Okay, okay, sorry," she replied quietly, "You can leave the food in the kitchen or put it in the fridge if you need to. I'll tell them to get something ready."

"Yea, sure," Tenten said cheerily, walking into the enormous kitchen and putting her contribution down, "The pan was a little bit heavy anyway. Glad to get it off of my hands."

Naruto put down two boxes of something, sighing deeply when he got the weight off.

"Eh? Naruto, you didn't carry anything here," Sakura noted suspiciously when she put down the cake, "At least, I don't think so. You didn't really even bring anything to my house, ne, Sasuke?"

"The dobe can do what he wants," Sasuke said, flicking a strand of hair away from the side of his face, "I don't think he brought anything, though."

"Ano, ano, these are Hinata-chan's," Naruto explained cheerfully. Tenten grinned slyly.

"Oooh, HINATA-CHAN HAS A SLAVE-BOY!" she yelled loudly, causing Hinata to blush ten shades of red.

"A-ano, T-tenten-chan, N-naruto-k-k-kun i-isn't my s-slave," she stuttered, poking her fingers together and fidgeting. "It was just r-really h-heavy."

Sakura grinned slyly. "Hinata-chan, are you _sure_ that's not true? It really _does_ look like he is your slave, though you could say that he is also trying to be _friendly_."

"Sakura-chan, Tenten-chan, can you please stop?" Hinata said after a long pause, trying her best not to stutter or sound afraid.

"I guess—okay. Since you were so _brave_," Tenten noted, "You didn't even stutter."

Hinata, her cheeks beat red, sighed in relief, her warm breath being released into the cold air as she stepped outside. Her breath turned into a small, temporary fog of grayish white, before it disappeared as quickly as it came. Soon, everyone followed out the door, the last being Ino, who slipped on some boots and yelled to the cooks to prepare something by the time they got back.

"So where are we going?" Ino chimed, the heels of her boots clicking audibly against the cold, hard cement floor.

"Uh, nowhere particularly special," Sakura said nonchalantly, "At least I don't think so. I mean, what's so special about _your _birthday." The pink haired female gave her best friend a sly smile before skipping off into some random direction, with the female blonde tailing right behind her.

"GET BACK HERE, FOREHEAD!" she screamed, the clanking of her boots even more audible than before, "WHAT'S _THAT_ SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

Sakura turned around and stopped suddenly, watching as Ino was not able to stop herself in time and nearly hit a tree. The shorter girl walked timidly to Ino before bursting out laughing, as in their chase, several leaves and branches caught in Ino's hair.

"What the _hell_ is so funny, _Sakura_," Ino hissed, her voice low and intimidating. Sakura and Ino had known each other for quite a while, however, so she was not fazed by this fake, angry aura that was practically seething out of Ino.

"Well, first of all your hair. Sec—"

Ino shrieked.

"MY _HAIR_?" she screamed. "SAKURA, YOU'RE _DEAD_. SERIOUSLY."

Sakura squeaked before hiding behind Shikamaru, who had just caught up with everyone else. "We'll take you to your hair dresser?"

"YOU BETTER PAY FOR IT."

"Yes, Ino! I will, do not fear!"

"SAKURA, IF YOU MAKE THEM DO SOMETHING CHEAP, I'LL SHRED YOU TO PIECES!"

"Uh…_ew._"

* * *

Several hours were wasted at the hair dresser as Ino nitpicked at everything that was wrong about her hair when the poor man tried to fix it so it would look better. However, nothing seemed to make her happy. The man had to give Ino to a different hair dresser before she was happy with herself. Almost thirty different twists and styles of hair had to be done before she was satisfied.

"That will be about fifty million yen!" the second hair dresser said, glossy lips in an elegant, curved smile.

"_Ino_," Sakura hissed when she was sure nobody noticed, "Please, _come on_. You know I'm not ri—"

"Forehead girl, don't lie!" Ino exclaimed, laughing sadistically, "You _know_ you are from one of those super rich families!" Her eyes turned three shades darker, almost threatening the smaller, but older, girl to pay for her.

"I—uh. Shut up," Sakura growled, not the least bit afraid of her best friend. The rosette took quick, unnoticeable glances at the sparkling hair dressers. She swallowed some saliva down her throat and coughed slightly, tucking her hair behind her head and putting her hands behind her back. "You know, you should tell _Sasuke_ to pay," she started before trailing off into a list, "Or _Neji_. Or _Hinata_. Not me. You know I don't carry that much money. You know, even _Na—_"

Suddenly, a hand slid a credit card on the counter. Shikamaru sighed slightly, looking up at the ceiling and pocketing his hands afterwards. "Charge it on me. Ino, take that as your birthday present...Ugh, this is _so_ troublesome."

Birthday present...The word lingered in Ino's blonde head for several minutes. It felt like a foreign word when she mouthed it with her glossy pink lips. It felt like a dream that she had the night before, but couldn't remember in the morning. It felt like she was forgetting something. Even when the cash register clicked and the credit card swiped, she could not remember.

Until a few moments later. She gripped her manicured hands in a fist, her long nails digging slightly into her palm, making a reddish sort of mark. Her shoulders shivered from a few moments from the pressure, before she released her muscles and tried to relax, no matter how awkward she felt.

"**The doll, maybe?"**

She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. Not now, there were too many people. It'd be too embarrassing. She'd give it to him later, some other time.

"**But it **_**has**_** to be sometime today. Ugh, Hinata is **_**so**_** lucky. Doesn't have to do it until next month...Well, I get it over with faster, **_**anyway**_**...This must have been how Sakura and Tenten felt when they had to give it to Sasuke and Neji. Especially since their personalities aren't all that charming..."**

She felt a small nudge on her shoulder when somebody passed by.

"Hey, let's go, Ino-pig!" Sakura called, "I don't want those crazy hairdressers to charge us even more for just _standing_ in this place!"

One of the hairdressers brightened and lifted her head up, eyes glittering once more. "HEY, THAT'S A GOOD IDE—"

"ERP—THAT'S OKAY! THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HELP!" Sakura shouted before pushing everyone hurriedly out of the door. She walked stiffly, her arms extending out in a straight manner and legs moving robotically. She only stopped moving in this stiff, rigid manner when they walked three blocks.**  
**

"Hey, uh, we still didn't figure out where we're going!" Naruto exclaimed, stopping suddenly and causing Tenten to run into his back.

"Naruto, I suggest you give some warning before you stop like that," Tenten whined, backing up from her previous position a little bit. "Ugh, I'm starting to get sort of tired, though I know we weren't out that long. Maybe we could've gotten more done if _this_ birthday girl didn't want to get her hair done. But she _has to look perfect_ !"

"Yep, that's right!" Ino chirped in cheerfully. Her tone changed quickly to a less peppy one for a moment, "Though, seriously, I _sort of_ want to do something other than shopping."

"Gasp!" Sakura said in mock-surprise, "_Yamanaka Ino doesn't want to go shopping_?!" Ino punched her green-eyed friend on the arm, though it was obvious that the petite, studious girl did not want to go shopping either. After a short pause, Sakura smiled brightly. "Okay, then, let's go to the carnival!"

"There's a carnival in town?" Hinata asked warily, "I didn't know that..."

"You aren't out much, Hinata-chan!" Sakura exclaimed before tapping her chin, "But I suppose it's sort of like a theme park, too. I'm sure you've been there some time in your life!"

"No, actually," Neji replied, speaking for himself and his younger cousin, "We were restricted by Hinata's father to go to any of those...frivolous places when we were younger. We were kept inside the house most of the time, trying to get our martial arts and studies straight."

"Pfft, what a boring life!" Sakura teased. "And it's not 'frivolous'! It's really, really fun! I go there sometimes when I don't really know what to do and I have a lot of time on my hands, but I still really love the park...So, Ino, Shikamaru, are you okay with that idea?"

"Whatever."

"Sure, that sounds pretty good!" Ino said breathlessly.

Truth to be told, the Yamanaka child hadn't had this sort of entertainment in a while—since she hit the age of nine, all she really cared about was shopping, makeup, clothes, and all the other stuff that was considered 'in'.

Ino knew all about clothes. Ino knew all about makeup. Ino know all about shoes. She knew about the latest hair styles and the nicest kind of manicure. She knew about what clothes were out of season, and what brands sold the nicest clothes for a certain style. She knew what Sakura and Hinata and Tenten liked to wear. She knew how to match colors, and she knew how to put on the right shoes for the right outfit. She knew how much mascara to put on, and she knew how to dress for every occasion and still look good.

Ino knew a lot of these kind of things.

She just didn't know about amusement parks. She didn't know about video games. She didn't know about the newest books, or the hottest manga. She didn't know how much it cost for a cappuccino, but she knew how much the newest dress from _Chanel _cost.

So sometimes she liked to call herself stupid. She felt like she didn't know anything.

That was why she liked Sakura, because Sakura was everything she was not, and she was everything Sakura was not.

(But the truth was that sometimes, it felt like Sakura was _everything_ and really, she was nothing.)

"Let's go!"

Ino was pushed hard on the back, almost falling over.

"Hey! What was that for!" she whipped around and saw a smiling Tenten.

She brushed her brown hair and past her smooth tan cheek before speaking. "You were dazing, Ino. Maybe you're too tired to go?"

"NO!" the younger girl cried stubbornly, looking around to see where everyone was. They were all ahead of her, except for Tenten, of course.

Tenten's eyes softened into what was pity, because Ino was finally being a little bit more childish than usual, and it wasn't about clothes, makeup, or anything like that. It was about going to an amusement park to just play and play and have fun like a five-year-old would.

"So, let's go, come on!" she shouted in a loud, excited voice, pulling Ino with her while she ran past. The blonde gave a small screech, as she was practically dragged on the concrete before she could find her pace. All she could see was Tenten and her friends, and all she could feel was the numbness of the harsh, September winds against her face as she ran faster, faster, faster. And all she could show were her glittering eyes and her truly, dazzling ghost of the smile she smiled when she was eight years old.

And Shikamaru noticed how beautiful she was that day.

* * *

When they arrived at the amusement park, it was packed with teen couples and mothers and fathers with their children. There were smaller kids standing under the measuring board, and crying because they didn't reach the safe height. There were people going to small stalls and buying hot dogs and cotton candy and funny hats and things that Ino forgot from a long time ago.

They got to the entrance booth and paid, quickly, before they all rushed in.

"How enjoyable is this, Ino?" Sakura asked curiously, stretching her arms slightly, "And you get to pick the first ride, since it seems like you're too excited to speak."

"I—uh, let's try the roller coaster...?" Ino's voice dipped into a question, and she felt her confidence draining from her body.

She wasn't exactly in familiar territory, and most people would call her _pathetic_ for feeling uncomfortable in an amusement park surrounded by all her friends to celebrate her and Shikamaru's birthday, but it was so _strange_.

There weren't any snooty girls with skinny bodies who looked anorexic. There weren't any heavy makeup wearers who checked the mirror every minute or less. There weren't any people throwing fits and trying to break their toes to jam their feet into the all too small shoes that just looked really nice.

Somehow, that's where she felt comfortable, and that wasn't here.

"Ino?"

The voice was soft, the small sort of encouragement that she needed.

"Uh, yea, the roller coaster. What is it called?"

"Oh, that one," Sakura droned, voice laced with something that was amusement or sarcasm or something in between. "Death Terminal. Still want to try, Ino-pig?"

She gulped slightly. She hadn't really eaten anything, so she wouldn't barf or throw up or something stupid like that. So she nodded confidently and walked forward, slowing down a few paces to let somebody else lead.

"H-hey, maybe we can choose a d-different r-ride?"

Everyone stopped when they heard the squeaky high pitched voice. It could have been easily considered as Hinata's voice, if it wasn't as loud. Of course, it was Naruto, since only he and Ino were capable of being so loud and nervous at the same time.

"Dobe, you _scared_?" Sasuke said coolly, and for the first time, Ino realized he didn't really talk too much during the walk.

"**Ugh, why doesn't he **_**talk**_** more?! It's not like he's sick, and he definitely doesn't **_**sound**_** bad."**

'Why do you even _care_, Ino, darling?"

"**I don't know, just curious?"**

'I'm sure it's because you think his voice is velvety and smooth and he's Tall, Dark, and Handsome.'

"**But I can't really live with a guy like...**_**that**_** quiet."**

'Understood.'

"**And, I don't think I like him like that."**

Ino scanned the crowd quickly, and she noticed that they had walked to the line for _Death Terminal_, the roller coaster they were going to be riding. There was a ridiculously long line, and she didn't really want to wait.

But her stomach made a small flip and it felt weird and nervous, so she knew she sort of wanted to go on this to overcome her fears.

The line moved slowly, a few people, about fifteen, after Ino got close enough to count, could get into each cart. They would move slowly from the station, their smiling and laughing faces lit by artificial red-orange light, their shadows cast against their cheeks to make them look surreal.

Then, seconds later, Ino would hear screaming.

Loud, loud, _very loud_ screaming.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick," Naruto groaned, clutching his stomach.

Sakura hit him over the head and frowned. "Heh, you were the only one that decided to eat ten bowls of instant ramen before we left..."

"You said we were going to have late lunch!" Naruto exclaimed, giving what he thought looked like an irresistible pout, though it reminded everyone more of a fish with oversized lips. "You told me to eat a little bit so I didn't get hungry later on, Sakura-chan!"

"You call _ten bowls_ 'a little bit', Naruto?" the green eyed girl said, giving him a disbelieving glance. "Yea _right_. You probably just stuffed your fa—"

"NEXT GROUP!" the man shouted, lifting up the red rope that blocked people from going into the cart unless he counted them. He pushed everyone in, counting them one by one. Finally, he got to fifteen.

But Ino and Shikamaru were left behind.

"Uh, excuse me," Tenten asked the man in the most polite way she could, "Our two friends, the blonde girl and the other guy, weren't let in. Can you possibly switch them with two other people? We're a whole group."

The gruff, large man gave a small grunt, deciding to disregard Tenten after that.

"Excuse me...?" the girl asked, her confidence starting to waver once she realized how the man towered over her.

"What?" the man spat. "I can't do that. It'll slow everything down. Now, bitch, just get in the cart and I'll start the ride."

"_What_ did you call me?" Tenten said sharply, eyes narrowing immediately. Neji took the chance to drag her out of there and put her in her seat, fastening the safety belt for her, and giving a quick nod to the man.

The ride started, and Ino felt even more excited to go.

She was sure she heard Naruto's girlish scream before she couldn't hear the cart rolling on the bumpy tracks anymore.

"Ugh, why did _we_ have to get cut off?" Ino hissed, kicking the floor slightly. "Stupid asshole, not letting us switch..."

"May you repeat what you said, miss?" the man said all of a sudden. Ino gulped and squeaked.

"Um...I said that this is the best ride and _hello_ to you! I think you're my new best friend!" she replied cautiously. The man glanced at her before looking another way. Ino sighed in relief.

But she was angry.

A little bit.

She was angry that she had no Prince Charming, and it didn't seem like she'd ever have a Happily Ever After. It seemed like Sakura's story would work out fine, sort of like Cinderella. And that Tenten's relationship would be fine once she finally decided to make a move. And once Naruto realized that he was _obviously_ madly in love with Hinata, they'd get a perfect ending and have a wonderful wedding with beautiful flowers and a lovely wedding cake that was five layers high.

Sometimes, it seemed like Ino was the one with the largest flaws and the empty eyes and the fake smiles and the hollow laughs. It seemed like she was the only one who was staring at a broken reflection when she woke up in the morning to brush her teeth. It seemed like nothing would ever be right for her, and she'd have to struggle and search and try her hardest to find what was called True Love, but end up breaking before she could ever reach her goal.

"Hey, woman, move up." It was Shikamaru, much to Ino's relief, and not the terrifyingly large man again. She took small, timid steps, like she was a five-year-old again who wasn't sure what piece of grass to step on to make sure their shoes didn't get wet and muddy.

She sat down on the chair, the not all that comfortable one, and strapped on her safety belt. She glanced to the side and saw Shikamaru sitting in, a bored look on his face. It started moving, slowly but surely, and then it began to speed up.

They were going uphill, Ino assumed, since she felt like she was lying down.

And then, a drop.

Ino always remembered how her heart beat faster and how she gripped Shikamaru's hands until her knuckles were white and how she screamed and laughed and smiled in the most real way possible when that drop came. She always remembered how happy she felt and how scared and excited and nervous. She remembered the burst of emotions and the wind whipping quickly past her to blow away her hair. She remembered the memory and she remembered the giggles in between screams.

But what she remembers the most was Shikamaru's almost-smiling face.

* * *

"Whoa, that was fun!" Ino exclaimed when they were getting out of the cart. She stretched a little bit, and found the rest of their friends standing nearby, chatting.

Naruto and Sakura had pink cotton candy in their hands, which they were picking off with their other and stuffing into their mouths.

"Forehead, let me have some of yours!" the blue eyed girl demanded when she ran over to her friend.

Sakura looked up and scrunched up her nose. "No, Ino-pig! Get one yourself. Do you think this is free? If it was, we wouldn't see any starving, homeless people on the streets!"

"Come _on_," Ino whined, "It's my freaking birthday! And you're _still_ as mean as ever!"

"_Excuse _me?!" Sakura yelled, though her face broke into a smile and then something in between a laugh and a giggle, "You call _me_ mean?!"

"I think you should just give her some, Sakura," Tenten said maturely. "Really, it's not something to fight over. And I need some, too."

"_Hey_, you can just get Neji to buy it, and he will obey!" the pink-haired girl criticized. "And Ino, shouldn't you, um, show your gift?"

"What gift?" Ino asked in a voice that was very close to a whisper.

Sakura's jade green eyes narrowed sharply before she ripped off another piece of cotton candy and stuffed it in her mouth.

"You're kidding, right?" she said lowly, pulling Ino aside. "The doll, pig!"

It took Ino a few seconds to realize what Sakura was saying before she dug in her pockets for the wrapper box.

"Oh, _yea_, sorry, Sakura!"

"You shouldn't be saying sorry to me," Sakura said, pointing to Shikamaru. "Maybe him? And you can use this as an excuse for him to buy you cotton candy. He didn't _exactly_ give you a present!"

"Hey, you don't count that hair styling part that _you were supposed to pay for_."

"I didn't have that much money on me!" Sakura defended before pushing Ino over to Shikamaru, who was standing off to the side while everyone else was chattering, "Now go!"

Ino stumbled in front of Shikamaru, her cheeks reddening every passing second. She fiddled with her coat slightly, kicking the dirt on the ground subconsciously.

"You okay, Ino?" Shikamaru asked casually. His next sentence was rather blunt, and it made Ino want to scream at him and whine about how oblivious boys were. "You look...red."

"**It's just like a guy to not really notice what's happening. Though sometimes I wonder if **_**I**_** even know what I'm doing."**

"So, um, you know how you sort of gave me a gift before?" Ino started uncertainly, hoping this was the easiest way to get by. She saw the other three girls purposely lead the guys over in the other direction, pretending to be amazed by another ride. Sakura called out for a minute, telling them that they were going to go on the ride and that they'd come back in a while.

Ino and Shikamaru nodded, before the blonde cleared her throat once more. "Well, um, like I was saying, it's really only fair if I give you a present, right?"

Shikamaru gave a nonchalant shrug, which was what Ino predicted he would do, but not exactly the kind of reaction she wanted from him.

She took out her box and handed it to him, clutching to it in an almost desperate manner. When he finally moved his hands and fingers, she saw his dark eyes staring intently at the small box.

"Er...thanks, I guess. You didn't really have to do anything..."

"It was just because my parents forced me," Ino lied quickly, crossing her arms, "Just—don't really think I did it for your sake."

"Tch, troublesome," Shikamaru muttered slightly before unwrapping the box in silence. Ino peeked at his face, and wondered, really, _what would he think of this thing_?

When Shikamaru was holding the doll of himself in his hands, all battered and bumpy, he knew that Ino put some work into it. Hard work.

He could see it in the way the stitches were made and cut off and made once again, and he could see the places where there was too much or too little cotton.

These kinds of things could only be done if the doll was made by hand, and not machine.

He looked up at Ino, who was looking at the ride that the others went off to, watching as everyone spun and laughed and screamed. Her eyes were half-closed, and her hair was blowing crazily. Her eyes gleamed brightly, only moving slightly to follow the train or carts. Behind her, the sky was turning pinkish-orange and the sun was setting.

To anyone, it would have looked like Ino was a supermodel, the kind that is pretty and The Best and the one that everyone wants to beat. She looked like the girl that always looks natural in photo shoots, but still manages to express the right emotion at the right time. She looked pretty, beautiful, _glamorous_.

But to Shikamaru, the illusion of this supermodel-esque girl was shattered by her brilliant, sparkling eyes that danced with emotion and were the color of the sky he liked to watch. Her smile was the one he liked to see the most, frankly, and its childlike features were the kind that you couldn't find in the Top Supermodel or the Fashion Queen.

That's why he liked her.

"Let's go home."

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview**: Ramen Festival—Naruto's Birthday!

"Hey, Naruto, where do you want to go for your birthday?" Sakura asked breezily, flicking a piece of her grass at Ino, who scowled and stabbed violently at her food before stealing a piece of meat from Sakura's bento.

Naruto paused slightly, closed his eyes, and breathed. He opened them suddenly and jumped up.

"OH, THERE'S THAT RAMEN FESTIVAL SOON! CAN WE GO _THERE_?!"

Sakura frowned.

She was pretty sure everyone except for Naruto was groaning inside their heads.

* * *

**A/N:** Yea, the chapter is _finally _out.

You can sort of see how my style changed towards the end, since I start to do a little bit of that repeating a phrase thing. My writing has definitely seen a (positive, hopefully) change since the time I started, which was about a year ago.

I know this hasn't been updated much, but school has been really busy (much busier than I thought it would be. Really sorry about the long wait. Like, supeh!long wait.

Thanks for all your patience with me, though. I've had a few one-shots out (including a collection), and I'm just here to pimp **Extra Ren**'s Ninja High, not because I'm co-writing it, but because it's an amazing story that you _probably have_ read before. Amazing authoress there. :3 From Orphans to Thieves will hopefully be updated soon (over my spring break, meaning next week, I hope).

I love you guys tons and tons. Please say happy late birthdays to **Quiet Moon **and **tennisxdork**, who are both amazing authoresses on FFN. I'm working on your gift!fics guys, though it'll take a while. Kill me if they aren't out by next week.

Bye guys! Hope to update this story really soon.

And I'm not going to force you to review (since I probably don't deserve them). Though I like eating them like I eat tomatoes and French fries.

Kikoru x3


End file.
